The charity Little Troopers has announced the dates for its next free residential weekend, which will take place from Friday 10 March to Sunday 12 March at the Liddington Adventure Centre in Swindon.
The weekend is part of the Little Troopers All Together deployment club and is specifically for teenagers aged 14+ who have parents currently serving in the British Armed Forces.
Twenty-four military teens will come together over the weekend to meet each other, make new friends and take part in a packed itinerary of outdoor adventures from rock climbing to abseiling and archery. The charity will also be running some military wellbeing sessions, exploring some of the unique challenges they face as a forces teen. Families can now register their interest here.
This will be the second residential weekend that the charity has run as part of the All Together deployment club. In October, 24 military teens gathered in Richmond for a fun-filled weekend at the Marrick Priory Centre.
Ellen (15), one of the teens that attended, commented: “At first I was really nervous because I didn’t know anyone but everyone has been really nice and it’s been a great opportunity to make new friends with other people who understand what you’re going through.”
Louise Fetigan, founder of Little Troopers, said: “Our aim with the All Together project is to reach as many children as possible to bring them together in different ways and to help them feel part of a special community of other little troopers who are going through the same experience. Our last residential weekend was really well received by young people and their parents, with everyone commenting how beneficial it had been to bring military teens together. Lots of new friendships were made and it’s a weekend they will remember for a lifetime.
“We are really excited to be announcing the next All Together residential and are already looking forward to meeting our new group of young people.”
The weekend is completely free to attend, but transport is not provided so parents must be able to drop their children off at the Adventure Centre by 6pm on Friday evening and collect them by 3pm on Sunday afternoon.
The Little Troopers All Together deployment club has been funded by the Veterans Foundation, Greenwich Hospital, HDH Wills, Henry Sale Foundation and The Prince of Wales Charitable Fund.
For more information about Little Troopers All Together and to learn more about other initiatives the charity has in place to support service children, visit www.littletroopers.net
Background:
Little Troopers is a registered charity supporting service children who have parent(s) serving in our British Armed Forces, regular or reserve. These children often face unique challenges including frequent house and school moves, as well as regular periods of separation from their serving parent(s) for varying lengths of time due to exercises, training, operations and other service commitments.
As a charity, Little Troopers ensures our British Armed Forces children and their families have access to child-focused support wherever they are in the world and whatever community they live in. We provide fundamental resources and initiatives to help ease repeated separation periods and keep parent and child connected even when miles apart. We are the only charity in the UK dedicated to celebrating just how special all our Little Troopers out there really are.
For more information visit www.littletroopers.net