VETERANS AID
Veterans Aid is a singular charity born in the aftermath of WW1 and provided continuous support for veterans in crisis ever since.
It spends very little on advertising and marketing but the impact of what it invests in changing lives is phenomenal – a fact acknowledged in 2011 when it received the Institute for Turnaround Award, Europe’s top benchmark of organisations that have moved from significant difficulty to transformation.
All the UK’s 4.5million veterans are entitled to VA’s help, but those who seek it are usually in despair: ‘untouchables’, not stereotypes.
VA has been quietly extending the hand of friendship and practical support to these veterans – immediately, effectively and on the basis of what is needed, rather than what is available. Each ‘client’ is an individual, for whom a bespoke solution is crafted and the projects VA undertakes are almost limitless.
Help can range from accommodation and food, to detox programmes and training courses. The aim being to help the veterans adjust to civilian life and importantly give them a ‘hand up, not a hand out’.
Arguably, no charity in its sector has had such an impact on the perception, understanding and welfare of veterans in Britain today. VA has both challenged assumptions and sparked national political debate on wider aspects of legislation, welfare and veterans wellbeing issues - a significant outcome from a charity with an annual turnover of just £1.4 million and staff of nineteen.
For more information on the work of Veterans Aid, please follow this link to their website