Aviva Community Fund has provided £1,750 of match funding
Veterans Connect
Llanelli, Wales, United Kingdom
Aim
To support lonely and isolated veterans, enabling them to interact with other veterans and connect through shared military experiences
Whilst in service, military personnel are always busy and rarely alone. This is a stark difference to the loneliness and isolation that many older veterans face during their later life.
The experience of veterans is something that many can appreciate, but not truly understand. This can cause veterans to feel disconnected and lonely.
But lonely doesn't mean alone.
By connecting veterans with other veterans, we can help people share in these unique experiences and build true connections with others who understand them.
Feeling connected is more important than ever right now, and we know that lock down and social distancing has made this even more difficult for people. We can help reduce loneliness and isolation whilst keeping veterans safe.
Why we need your support:
"This support has given me a chance to talk to someone. It has allowed me to access a number of services, such as gardening, handyperson, befriending, benefits, cleaning and Information & Advice. If they can't provide a service they have found someone who can." - Veteran supported by Age Cymru Dyfed.
By supporting Veterans Connect, you will help will bring veterans together and enable us to reach those that are in some of the most rural areas of West Wales. The project will connect veterans both online and offline, making sure everyone remains safe during these difficult times of Covid-19.
• We will run online social groups and activities - our Digital Champions can help people get set up on and use digital devices so they can contact other veterans and join groups, as well as keeping in touch with their family and friends
• We will run activities for those who aren't digitally active, including pen-pals, veterans days celebration cards, and sharing written accounts of their military experiences.
• Working with our volunteers, we will continue to build the veterans community in Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion
The funds raised will be used to help the running of activities and support for veterans. Your kind donations will help towards materials and resources to promote and run the activities, secure guest speakers to join online events, and print and post materials for offline activities to reach those that are not digitally engaged.
Who we are:
Age Cymru Dyfed support people over 50 across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, with a wide range of support tailored to veterans.
We are passionate about helping older veterans share their military experiences and preserve their stories to be enjoyed by all generations, so have developed our pioneering veterans archive which holds accounts, pictures and memorabilia provided by military veterans aged 65+.
We provide Information and Advice, including benefits checks and dementia advice, and digital support to help veterans make the most our of technology. We also offer a befriending service as well as a home cleaning service in some areas. We put the health and wellbeing of veterans at the forefront of what we do and ensure they feel supported by all of our services.
Get in touch:
If you live in Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire or Ceredigion and would like get involved in our work as a volunteer, we'd love to hear from you! Or if you're a veteran over 65 living in our three counties, and you'd like to share your military experience through our West Wales Veterans Archive, please get in touch!
We also support the families and carers of veterans, so if we can help you or your loved one, don't hesitate to contact us.
Peter McIlroy - Practical Services Manager
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 07824 775344
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Age-Cymru-Dyfed-237052943365286
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AgeCymruDyfed
This project successfully funded on 16th December 2020