Aldershot Town supporters raised almost £1000 for ABF – The Soldiers’ Charity at Saturday’s game against Tranmere Rovers.
Supporters donated a superb total of £966.18, a new record for a football match collection organised by the Surrey chapter of the ABF.
“We were very well received and very well looked after,” said Canon Peter Bruinvels, Surrey Regional Fundraiser for the charity, who led a team of nine soldiers from Aldershot’s 27 Regt RLC and 3PWRR, based in Farnham. “Not only that, but the spectators were very supportive and keen to talk to the soldiers. It is a quite remarkable total, and I am very grateful to Aldershot Town for their very public support for ABF – The Soldiers’ Charity.”
Set up more than 70 years ago, the charity provides a lifetime of support to soldiers, former soldiers and their families who are often in need of financial support. Grants are made on the basis of need alone, and in the spirit of a ‘hand up’ rather than a ‘hand out’.
The charity supports their widows, children and parents, and in 2015 made grants in excess of £7.9 million – a 30% increase on the previous year. £3 million was paid to over 5,200 individual cases. In Surrey, £611,000 was donated, including £355,000 to Combat Stress in Leatherhead and further financial support to DMRC Headley Court. Grants to individuals in Surrey amounted to more than £200,000. The average grant awarded to ex-service personnel last year was £740, to people ranging in age from two to 107.
