Post by aghart on Sept 11, 2010 19:56:42 GMT
20 members present for the September meeting. The green fields produced a nil return.
It was confirmed that the annual ladies lunch be held on January 16th 2011 in Bournemouth. It was agreed that we should invite both the Regimental Colonel and Regimental secretary and their wives.
Confirmation that the guest speaker for October is Col (retd) John Longman formerly the Regimental Colonel, now editor of the Tank Magazine.
It was agreed that the September raffle proceeds be donated to SSAFA. Letters and newsletters received since the last meeting were available to view.
Once the bits and pieces were out of the way Barry Fellowes introduced the guest speaker. Mr Paul Newsome the Dorset secretary of SSAFA. (Soldiers, Sailors & Airman’s Families Association) Paul gave an excellent presentation and the main points are highlighted below.
SSAFA is the oldest military charity, started 125 years ago in 1885.
It distributed £515 and 10 shillings (50p) in it's first year. It was created primarily to support service families.
It expanded dramatically in World War 1. It provided clothes for families from a network of establishments around the country. Today there is only one establishment left, the SSAFA charity shop in Parkstone, Poole. This charity shop takes in over £1000 per week. Thanks mainly to this shop Dorset area SSAFA sends between £20k-£30k to central funds every year.
SSAFA is not primarily a fundraiser; its main role is to act as a broker between client and charities. Caseworkers (volunteers) help individuals by firstly checking to see what state benefits they are entitled to, they then also check which civilian charities may be able to help, and of course they look at service charities. Most people in need are ex servicemen, serving persons are usually looked after by regimental charities. It does work very closely with the Royal British Legion. The most common form of help appears to be the supply of battery powered scooters to elderly persons and dealing with debt problems. As long as the individual served 1 day in the armed forces they qualify for help from SSAFA.
SSAFA’s central office is in London with regional branches all over the UK. Welfare staff on RAF bases are from SSAFA. There is a constant caseload for it’s caseworkers although a drop in cases is expected as the WWII veterans decrease in number.
Paul explained that charities are strictly limited in what they can do, they must stay in their remit and stick to what has been agreed. Help for Heroes for instance exists to provide infrastructure such as buildings and has a pot of some £50 million, but is limited to what it can do. This is important because helping our heroes in more straightforward ways is the role of the regimental and other charities like the Army Benevolent Fund.
Some service charities are closing down because the people they were formed to help are now gone. The funds of these charities are being pooled into a common pot for general use.
The presentation was well received and the RTR old and bold went away more informed and knowledgeable than when they arrive.
It was confirmed that the annual ladies lunch be held on January 16th 2011 in Bournemouth. It was agreed that we should invite both the Regimental Colonel and Regimental secretary and their wives.
Confirmation that the guest speaker for October is Col (retd) John Longman formerly the Regimental Colonel, now editor of the Tank Magazine.
It was agreed that the September raffle proceeds be donated to SSAFA. Letters and newsletters received since the last meeting were available to view.
Once the bits and pieces were out of the way Barry Fellowes introduced the guest speaker. Mr Paul Newsome the Dorset secretary of SSAFA. (Soldiers, Sailors & Airman’s Families Association) Paul gave an excellent presentation and the main points are highlighted below.
SSAFA is the oldest military charity, started 125 years ago in 1885.
It distributed £515 and 10 shillings (50p) in it's first year. It was created primarily to support service families.
It expanded dramatically in World War 1. It provided clothes for families from a network of establishments around the country. Today there is only one establishment left, the SSAFA charity shop in Parkstone, Poole. This charity shop takes in over £1000 per week. Thanks mainly to this shop Dorset area SSAFA sends between £20k-£30k to central funds every year.
SSAFA is not primarily a fundraiser; its main role is to act as a broker between client and charities. Caseworkers (volunteers) help individuals by firstly checking to see what state benefits they are entitled to, they then also check which civilian charities may be able to help, and of course they look at service charities. Most people in need are ex servicemen, serving persons are usually looked after by regimental charities. It does work very closely with the Royal British Legion. The most common form of help appears to be the supply of battery powered scooters to elderly persons and dealing with debt problems. As long as the individual served 1 day in the armed forces they qualify for help from SSAFA.
SSAFA’s central office is in London with regional branches all over the UK. Welfare staff on RAF bases are from SSAFA. There is a constant caseload for it’s caseworkers although a drop in cases is expected as the WWII veterans decrease in number.
Paul explained that charities are strictly limited in what they can do, they must stay in their remit and stick to what has been agreed. Help for Heroes for instance exists to provide infrastructure such as buildings and has a pot of some £50 million, but is limited to what it can do. This is important because helping our heroes in more straightforward ways is the role of the regimental and other charities like the Army Benevolent Fund.
Some service charities are closing down because the people they were formed to help are now gone. The funds of these charities are being pooled into a common pot for general use.
The presentation was well received and the RTR old and bold went away more informed and knowledgeable than when they arrive.