AFF Great Britain - Useful Information
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06 Feb - Tips on sourcing funding for play areas
Volvo National Golf Club Challenge supports Help for Heroes
New project for Veterans with infants in Oxfordshire
The Bridge for Heroes
River & Rowing Museum Special Offer
BASC offers Armed Forces discount
Annington Trust
Tips on sourcing funding for play areas
AFF recognises that access to good play facilities for children is vital for their well-being (and your sanity). Liz Murray was disappointed when she found local play facilities in Larkhill were insufficient. She launched an excellent campaign to raise funds for a new play park. Liz has kindly given an overview as to how you can source funding for your play area.
So if play is central to patch life, why isn’t the provision any better?
- Financial constraints: In 2009, DIO/MHS’s budget from the MOD for new play parks was limited to £300,000 - for more than 400 play parks across the UK. To put this into context, a decent, well thought-out play park for 100 homes for a wide age range costs anything from £40,000 upwards although a project on the patch in Wimbish, Essex is aiming to raise £100,000 for 250 quarters and the Larkhill project raised more than £155,000..
- The budget for play spaces is now combined with that for housing upgrades and repairs. So if a piece of equipment breaks, such as a swing, the cost of a replacement part and the labour, this is considered against kitchen upgrades. MHS’ obligation is to keep play spaces safe, so where the cost is too great, this will and often results in equipment being removed. Over time his has left many of the 400 withering on the vine with little or no usable equipment.
- Local authorities do not consider play spaces within garrisons in their ‘scope’ despite all Service families paying CILOCT (Contribution In Lieu of Council Tax).
So what are the options?
- The easy answer is to lobby the MOD to prioritise more funding
- Ignore the issue
- Raise funds yourself
Remember that working with the council to buy the playpark equipment will save on all VAT costs.
Click here for a useful ten point plan.
Useful places to find funding:
- Local Parish or Town Council
- County Council (your local councillor can advise on who to talk to about possible sources of money)
- Organisations such as ‘Community First’ - there are many of these across the country - they have funds and funding advice for grassroots projects across the country.
- Garrison Welfare Funds
- Annington Homes (typically give a few hundred pounds but will give more if the project is significant)
- SSAFA Local Committee
- ABF The Soldiers’ Charity (they are keen to show support for the families of serving soldiers not just those who are injured)
- Armed Forces Covenant Scheme
New project for Veterans with infants in Oxfordshire
A new pilot project for veterans and their families has been set up within Oxfordshire run by The Infant Parent Perinatal Service, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. The project targets parents (mother and/or father) in the perinatal period, that is, who are expecting a baby or have one child under 12 months.
Families of veterans sometimes have particular needs for support in the perinatal period related to their experiences at work (including long periods of separation due to postings and the impact of adverse experiences for example Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).
Research shows that early intervention in families experiencing difficulties can have a dramatic beneficial impact on family functioning and outcomes for children, including more harmonious parent-child relationships, better peer relationships and higher educational achievements.
Whilst the remit of IPPS is to work with families who have children up to 12 months of age, older siblings within the family are also likely to benefit from the therapeutic work via their parent’s increased sensitivity and self awareness.
They are now taking referrals for this service so any workers or family members who think we may be able to help a family who fit the criteria (pregnant or with a child under 12 months) please contact them on 0845 219 1454 or email ipps@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk.
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The Bridge for Heroes
A new charity has been launched to provide identification and treatment of post-traumatic stress. They have opened their first walk-in centre in King's Lynn, close to RAF Marham, where people can drop in for a drink and chat, as well as providing face-to-face help with problems. Future plans are to extend contact centres across East Anglia and then nationally. See www.thebridgeforheroes.org for full details.
River & Rowing Museum Special Offer
Discover Henley's River & Rowing Museum set amongst trees and water meadows and overlooking the River Thames. With galleries dedicated to rowing, the river, the history of Henley and the gorgeous Wind in the Willows exhibition there's something for everyone.
There is a fantastic cafe with a great range of home cooked hot and cold dishes and Wind in the Willows lunchboxes for children to be enjoyed on a beautiful terrace. Families are welcome in the Museum and there are plenty of fun things to see and do. Children can explore the galleries with free backpacks or get creative with the activity trolley full of free colouring, crafts and Museum trails for all ages.
The River & Rowing Museum are pleased to offer a permanent 50% discount on tickets for Forces personnel and their families, so a family ticket for 4 could cost as little as £12. Tickets are valid for 12 months and include free entry to all of their family fun days, so are great value for money.
Visit www.rrm.co.uk for more information.
BASC offers Armed Forces discount
The council of the UK’s largest shooting organisation has decided to recognise the contribution made by the armed forces by introducing a subscription discount for all serving members, including reservists.
The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) now offers members who are in any branch of the armed forces a £10 discount on their membership subs.
Philippa Bursey, BASC’s director of business management, said: “As a national organisation we wanted to show that we recognise and appreciate what our armed forces do for our country.”
BASC has also recently introduced a phased direct debit scheme to make it even easier and more cost effective for people to join BASC. Membership subs have been kept at last year’s prices and discounts for Young Shots, OAPs and people on Jobseekers’ Allowance remain in place.
For more information and to join or renew membership, phone 01244 573030. Applicants will need to be able to provide evidence that they are currently serving in the armed forces.
Annington Trust
The Annington Trust was set up at the time of the purchase of the Married Quarters Estate by Annington in 1996. It was one of a number of measures taken by the company to demonstrate its commitment to families living in quarters.
A capital sum of £500,000 was contributed by those involved in the purchase of the estate and the Trust was established to support activities and projects 'on the patch'. Income from invested capital is used to make grants to successful applicants.
The Annington Trust has made grants to a variety of projects for the benefit of families living on the patch. These have included support for new equipment for community centres and playschools, for Brownies and for youth activities. They have generally been around £500 and the Trustees have welcomed evidence of self-help and of other fundraising by applicants. The Trust will not support projects which could receive public funding but will always consider carefully those which will make life on the patch better.
Applications to the Trust should be made using this application form.
If you want to give additional information, please attach it to the form. The Annington Trust wants to know about the project itself and about the community it will help. The more background information that you give, the easier it will be for Trustees to decide how they may be able to help.
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