Aldershot Town will welcome ABF – The Soldiers’ Charity to the EBB Stadium for Saturday’s match against Tranmere Rovers, as nine soldiers make a collection to raise much-needed funds to support service personnel and their families.
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. After being there for us, in serving their country, ABF – The Soldiers’ Charity take the responsibility of being there for them, now and in the future.
Grants are made on the basis of need alone, and in the spirit of a ‘hand up’ rather than a ‘hand out’. With soldiers involved in over a decade of constant conflict, grants are often given at very short notice.
At the end of December 2015, the number of UK fatalities in Afghanistan had risen to 456, with over 2,250 servicemen and servicewomen being seriously injured in action. The need for ABF – The Soldiers’ Charity to help serving soldiers and their families has never been so great since the end of World War II, and the need for a lasting peace in a world of both turmoil and uncertainty.
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.
The collection will be made on Saturday by personnel from 3PWRR based in Farnham, and Aldershot’s 27 Regt RLC. We thank you in advance for your generosity, as well as thanking all that our service personnel have done for our country.
For further information, visit www.soldierscharity.org.
