Page 115 - Mercian Eagle 2014

The Mercian Benevolence Charity
The purpose of The Mercian Benevolence Charity is to support our Regimental family when they find themselves in, ‘need, hardship
or distress’. We also act as a centre to request support from other charities for cases that require more funding than we can provide at Regimental Charity level.
In the last financial year, the fund dealt with 231 requests for assistance from serving soldiers, veterans and their families, totalling £87,500. Only £62,000 of funding comes in from Days Pay Scheme, with the shortfall of £25,500 made up from charity fund raising events and donations.
People tend to think that most of our benevolence help goes towards our elderly Second World War and National Service veterans, and there is a steady flow of requests from this age group as they grow older. However, this only accounts for approximately 33% of our requests. Assistance for veterans under the age of
40 years old continue to rise, with the requests for rental deposits continuing to be a growth area. We continue to be engaging closely to support our wounded soldiers from earlier tours and the ongoing Afghanistan Campaign who are now being discharged from the Army. We have provided assistance right across the ranks and indeed age spectrum, with our youngest request for assistance coming from a serving soldier aged 20 and our oldest from a WW2 Veteran from Arnhem aged 92.
The demands upon The Mercian Regiment Benevolence Fund will undoubtedly continue to grow, with the loss of a battalion also reducing our funding via the Days Pay Scheme.
Our sincere thanks go out to all of our Regimental family members who dedicate their time, resources, hard work and effort in fund raising for our charity. Your efforts enable the charity to keep up with the demand for help from our veterans. Those reading
are also asked to encourage all our veterans to channel their charity fundraising efforts into supporting The Mercian Regiment Benevolent Fund.
Tony Millward Donation - During the last two years, over £11,000 has been raised for the fund by Tony Millward. He has raised
it in various ways, including a charity mobility scooter ride and numerous collections in the local area.
To recognise his years of selfless work, the former mayor met Derbyshire’s Lord Lieutenant William Tucker at the Ex Servicemen’s
Club at the beginning of October, to receive his British Empire Medal (BEM).’
The Mercian Regiment’s Charity Clay Shoot –The Mercian Regiment’s Charity Clay Shoot raised in the region of £22,000
for The Mercian Regiment Benevolent Fund in late May. Over
250 people attended the fundraiser, which was hosted by Lady’s Wood Shooting School at Ernie Hemmings’ Farm near Nailsworth, Gloucestershire. Isobel has been an honorary member of The Mercian Regiment ever since the bombing at BallyKelly back in 1982, which killed 11 members of the regiment. Isobel was the first nurse on the scene.
Tough Mudder –27 Soldiers from across The Mercian Regiment competed in sweltering conditions at Tough Mudder to raise money for The Mercian Regiment Benevolent Fund. This was the first time officers and soldiers from all 4 MERCIAN Battalions had taken part in an event as a Regimental team.
The challenging 11.4 mile course included Arctic Enema, an ice bath obstacle which required soldiers to submerge ourselves under the ice to pass from one side to the other. The event raised over £1000 for The Mercian Regiment Benevolent Fund.
Lichfield Rocks Festival –- Lichfield Rocks Festival took place at The Bowling Green in Lichfield in June, raising money for The Mercian Regiment Benevolent Charity. In total, the event raised almost £3,000.
MERCIAN Annual Charity Golf Match –Lieutenant Colonel Keith Seddon MBE held his annual charity Golf match at Rufford Park Golf and Country Club, Nottinghamshire. This was in aid of The Mercian Regiment Benevolent Fund.140 players took part and raised over £2400 for the fund. A sincere thanks goes to Colonel Keith, who goes to great lengths in organising this event each year, and all the players who took part.
Ex-Manchester City Players Raise Money For The Mercian Regiment Benevolent Fund – Former Manchester City footballers took on a team of soap stars in a fundraising match for The Mercian Regiment Benevolent Fund.
In action on the day were former players Peter Barnes, Ian Brightwell, Steve Redman, Eric Nixon and Richard Edgehill, alongside Adam Thomas from Emmerdale, Will Rush from Waterloo Road, and Rhodri Giggs, the brother of Ryan Giggs. The soapstars won the contest 4 – 1.
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