Since thank you is on our mind, we want to thank and show the love to last year's Big Salute charities who've spent the last 12 months helping the whole forces community - to say it's been a challenge would be an understatement, so we are blown away with their efforts!
Here are a few of those amazing charities and what they do...
Dame Agnes Weston's Royal Charity for the Naval Service help serving members and their families by providing pastoral support around the country to enable families to stay connected through projects.
The Felix Fund provides welfare support and financial assistance to serving personnel, veterans and their dependents for any military or SO15 personnel, who have conducted or assisted with EOD and search duties.
By helping former veterans get back on their feet, they are able to prove to them they aren’t alone or too different to fit into civilian society. Together they are working to build a sense of belonging and being valued!
They help homeless personnel by providing a wraparound service of care. Over time they have housed many who were on the streets and provided more sustainable accommodation for those who previously were living in inadequate accommodation.
They support forces families, both veteran and serving, who are experiencing isolation. Often the lack of extended family support leads to emotional and practical difficulties which can be overwhelming, so each family will be matched with a local volunteer to help integration with the local community.
Their work aims to inspire recovery, regain self-esteem and promote positive change in an individual. Using horsemanship and outdoor activities, they deliver nationally recognised and accredited personal development programmes that encourage their participants to acquire new coping strategies, life skills and build lasting resilience.
Their aim is to inspire people with disabilities, PTSD and mental health issues, by demonstrating what can be achieved through motorsport. They provide injured troops with memorable, adrenalin packed experiences and providing the injured troops themselves with the opportunity of enjoying the experiences of racing and socialising, something they never thought they could do again.
They offer help and support to any serving man or woman who is wounded, injured or sick and any veteran with a disability, illness or infirmity; whatever the cause and whenever it arose.
They put the Armed Forces children and their families at the heart of everything they do by supporting tri-service and predominantly veteran families. They provide school uniforms/after-school activities, living expenses for university and basic necessities such as beds/bedroom furniture to families who cannot afford them.
They are committed to helping veterans and their families grow through being involved in adventurous activities, projects and expeditions. These help to rebuild their confidence, self-esteem and self-belief within an environment they understand and that understands them.
Working in partnership with some of Europe’s top universities, and through the unique perspective of a team comprised of archaeologists, veterans, and serving soldiers, Waterloo Uncovered aims to understand war and its impact on people — and to educate the public about it.
The BFBS Big Salute is our annual campaign that raises vital funds for armed forces charities which provides some much-needed funding, as well as support to military individuals, families and communities through a variety of initiatives.
The Big Salute could help your charity, so why not apply for a grant? Each year our committee meets to discuss all our applications for the coming year. So, if you would like to be considered then get in touch!
Applications will be open to apply for grants from 1st April 2021.
If you want to help, support or get involved with the BFBS Big Salute there are plenty of ways you can do, whether it be through donations, fundraising events and much more!