KMPT Veterans Champions Network raise over £1,700 for The Great Tommy Sleep Out
Date added: 12 April 2024
Last updated: 12 April 2024
KMPT Veterans Champions Network shines a light on homelessness among Armed Force Veterans by sleeping on the streets of Kent overnight and raising £1739 for fundraiser.
Made up of over 70 trained and retired Armed Forces Champions and Veterans, service users, carers and staff, KMPT Veterans Champions Network are passionate about raising awareness of the needs of the homelessness Armed Forces community.
Taking up The Great Tommy Sleep Out challenge, a fundraiser set up by the Royal British Legion Industries to help the most vulnerable veterans, Strategic Lead for Veterans, Carolyn Harbert, and four other members of staff across the Trust took part in the fundraiser last month.
Sharing her experience of sleeping outside and why it was it was important for the network to fundraise, Carolyn said: “It was a humbling experience for all of us as we were all too aware that we were able to return to our warm homes the next day. We were also lucky enough to be sleeping in safe surroundings which, sadly, is not the experience of many who are homeless. It was a cold night with a little rain but managed to make it through!
“We wanted to fundraise to highlight the issue of homelessness amongst Armed Forces Veterans. These are approximately 6,000 personnel who have served their country with pride, but sadly now find themselves, for whatever reason, homeless – and this is heart-breaking. We have come to realise that some of these reasons might include an unawareness of resources available to them – and so as a network we wanted to help by raising money for the charity, as well as awareness across the KMPT.”
With an evident passionate for supporting the armed forces community, KMPT Veterans Champions Network raised £700 over their initial goal, and Their commitment has seen them sign the Armed Forces Covenant which is designed to see that all those that serve their country are treated fairly and are not disadvantaged, in addition to being awarded the Silver Award by the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme by the Government. They are now focused on going the Gold award as they continue the work to support the Armed Forces community.
Interested in finding out more? You can visit Armed Forces Network to find out more.
