Over £3.3 million awarded in latest round of Covenant Fund awards

The Armed Forces Covenant Trust (the Trust) is delighted to announce over £3.3 million has been awarded in the latest series of grants made under the Covenant Fund.

The Trust has supported a total of 34 fantastic projects across four different Covenant Fund programmes, all set to make significant improvements for Armed Forces communities across the UK.Service Women: Seen & Heard has awarded over £700K to eight projects tackling the underlying issues unique to serving women, providing improved access to support for their mental and physical health and wellbeing.

Free From Fear has awarded just over £700K to five projects addressing domestic abuse through preventative measures or providing support routes for survivors in Armed Forces communities.

Serving Families: On the Move has awarded just over £1M to 11 projects helping to improve the quality of life for Service families impacted by relocation.
Embedding Prevention of Veteran Suicide has awarded just over £860K to 10 projects enabling systemic change and long-term, sustainable impact, building on the findings from the One is Too Many programme.

Little Troopers launches 'All Together' family reconnection weekends

The military children’s charity, Little Troopers, has launched a series of free family reconnection weekends for forces families to spend quality-time together.

Funded by Team Forces, the four Little Troopers weekends invite young people and their parents to go away for an exciting few days of outdoor adventure and connection where they’ll be encouraged to put down their phones, meet people, do new things and spend quality time together.

Open to families with up to four siblings aged 9 and over, the weekends will be packed with adventurous activities including coasteering, raft building, kayaking, mega SUPing and coastal bushcraft, as well as time to relax on the beach, watching the sunset with a hot chocolate.

Little Troopers launches All Together family reconnection weekends

The military children’s charity, Little Troopers, has launched a series of free family reconnection weekends for forces families to spend quality-time together.

Funded by Team Forces, the four Little Troopers weekends invite young people and their parents to go away for an exciting few days of outdoor adventure and connection where they’ll be encouraged to put down their phones, meet people, do new things and spend quality time together.

Open to families with up to four siblings aged 9 and over, the weekends will be packed with adventurous activities including coasteering, raft building, kayaking, mega SUPing and coastal bushcraft, as well as time to relax on the beach, watching the sunset with a hot chocolate.

RBL Poppy Hike 2025

The RBL Poppy Hike is taking place in the beautiful Surrey Hills on Sunday 18th May. By taking part, you'll be helping to raise vital funds and awareness so that RBL can continue to support serving & ex-serving personnel and their families, for as long as needed.

Starting and finishing at Epsom Racecourse, you'll hike through stunning landscapes in this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. You will also pass through a Centenary Wood which commemorates the sacrifices made in WW1.​

For more information on this event, please go to: rbl.org.uk/eventhike There is a discount for the military community available of 20%, reducing the registration cost to £20. To access the discount code, please ask your local HIVE, or use our DM/Contact Us facilities, or email RC-Pers-HIVEComms-0Mailbox@mod.gov.uk​

To find more information on:
Other RBL fundraising events and challenges, please visit: rbl.org.uk/eventbrochure
The RBL and how they support beneficiaries, please visit : Our Beneficiaries
How to be a volunteer, please visit: rbl.org.uk/event-volunteer

TAFCT - Two free webinars

The Armed Forces Covenant Trust Fund are kicking off 2025 with two FREE webinars and they would love you to join them.

The first will focus on the Supporting Armed Forces in Acute Hospital Settings Programme, sharing key findings from the programme evaluation.

The second will provide an introduction to the Thrive Together programme, the next phase of the successful VPPP programme.


Join us on Tuesday 14 January, 1pm to 3pm to discover the insights and impact of the Supporting Armed Forces in Acute Hospital Settings Programme. Jointly funded by the Covenant Fund, NHS England and NHS Improvement, this programme supported pilot projects aimed at exploring better ways to support Veterans and their families when they are in an acute hospital setting

Our second webinar of 2025 will provide an introduction to the Thrive Together Programme.

Building on the work of the successful Veterans’ People Places and Pathways Programme (VPPP), Thrive Together will step up support for vulnerable Veterans and their families across the UK, driving future sustainability. ​Want to learn more about Thrive Together? : Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust​

Little Troopers: Last Christmas Smiles boxes - applications now open to all military families

Little Troopers now have just 100 Christmas Smiles boxes left (out of 2,500!) and they really want to get these out to little troopers before Christmas. The last postal date is next Wednesday, so applications are now opened up to all military families.

Here's the link to apply (deadline for applications is 5pm on Fri 13th Dec): https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/X6Y259D

​Each Little Troopers Christmas Smiles box is packed with helpful resources and activities from the charity, all related to being a military child, along with a special edition of their newspaper and Christmas treats and stocking fillers to raise a smile.

GamCare's support group for all women

Way Forward is GamCare's support group for all women affected by someone else’s gambling harm. Groups aim to provide a safe, supportive and confidential space for women to share their experiences, find comfort and empower one another.


Way Forward online sessions are semi-structured, running for 1.5 hours over six weeks. Groups are led by trained facilitators specialising in supporting women who are affected by gambling-related harms.

Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust: New awards to build sustainable and resilient support networks for Veterans

 

The Armed Forces Covenant Trust (the Trust) have awarded grants totalling almost £7 million under the Thrive Together Programme (previously known as VPPP) which will step up support for vulnerable Veterans.

Nine grants have been awarded to the current portfolio lead organisations, enabling them to realise their plans under the newly named Thrive Together programme, designed to increase support to vulnerable Veterans and their families throughout the UK and enable this support to become self-sustaining.

Little Troopers announces Christmas Smiles plans for December

 

Over £380K awarded to Early Years provision for Service families

The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (The Trust) have awarded funding worth over £380,000 to a further 12 fantastic projects supporting Service children in the latest round of the Early Years programme!

These projects are set to help enhance early childhood education and childcare to better support the unique needs and challenges of young children from Armed Forces families.

Dedicated resources for Service children across the UK Part of the MOD’s Armed Forces Families Fund, the Early Years programme supports initiatives that help Armed Forces families access good quality early childhood education and childcare provision. 

This will enhance capacity, allowing more Service children to enrol, create improved learning environments, and offer suitable training for staff development to address the unique challenges faced by Service children.

Trust Launches Armed Forces Covenant Fund Domestic Abuse Programme for 2024/25

The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (The Trust) has launched a specialist and targeted funding programme to support people who have been affected by domestic abuse within the serving Armed Forces community. 

The Free from Fear programme will award a small number of targeted grants to projects that can show how they will reduce the impact of, or support initiatives that will have a long-term effect in the prevention of, domestic abuse within serving Armed Forces communities.

Applications will need to give clear evidence of the need for their project and why they are confident that their approach will lead to sustainable long-term changes that will remain after the end of their project delivery.

Little Troopers Treetop Adventure Day: Tuesday 27th August

The charity Little Troopers has teamed up with GoApe to host a free treetop adventure for 90 military children across several locations on Tuesday 27th August.

The special day is part of the charity’s All Together programme, which brings military children together from all three services, to spend time with each other and feel recognised and celebrated for being ‘little troopers’.

The GoApe treetop adventure is open to children aged 7-12 years at the following locations:

* Itchen Valley, Southampton

* Aice Holt, Hampshire

* Hylands Country Park, Chelmsford, Essex

* Wendover Woods, Buckinghamshire

* Cannock Chase, Staffordshire

* Temple Newsam, Yorkshire

New Armed Forces Covenant Fund Programme

Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust launches first new Armed Forces Covenant Fund programme for 2024/25 - Serving Families: On the Move.

The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (the Trust) has launched the first Covenant Fund programme under its exciting three-year Funding Framework.

Serving Families: On the Move is now open for applications for grants of up £120,000 for two-to-three-year projects that will improve the quality of life for Service families impacted by relocation as a direct result of Service life.

BuildForce Armed Forces Insight Day hosted by VINCI Facilities - Thu 25 Apr

 

Hosted by VINCI at the London Stadium and attended by 40 of our key industry employers, this is an excellent platform to explore the sector further, discuss transferable skills and UK-wide opportunities. 

Please note this is not limited to London as all employers have a national presence and as such are recruiting for all skillsets nationally.

Please note that all in the military community are welcome to attend, including Veterans, Reservists, Service Leavers and spouses.​

Reserve your spot at: BuildForce Armed Forces Insight Day hosted by VINCI Facilities Tickets, Thu 25 Apr 2024 at 10:00 | Eventbrite

Almost £3M to Support Systemic Change in Armed Forces Communities

The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust (the Trust) has awarded almost £3 million to nine transformative projects in this year’s round of the Covenant Fund Transformational Grants programme.

Continuing the trend from last year’s awards, the Trust has selected projects which aim to deliver systemic change within the Armed Forces community in a variety of different ways.

Each of the funded projects has a different focus, from supporting older Veterans, to tackling stigma amongst female Veterans. Mental health and wellbeing outcomes are an important element of many of the projects, though the ways of taking on these challenges vary from sports to e-learning, and training to inclusive programmes of activity and new and improved ways of delivering services.

Pink & Blue Abstract Meeting

 

Join the RBL at the National Memorial Arboretum to Mark the 80th Anniversary of D-Day.

The Arboretum will be open to the public as normal on 6 June as RBL host WW2 veterans and their families, and commemorate the service and sacrifice of all those involved in the Normandy Campaign.

Members of the public can watch the D-Day 80 Service of Remembrance in the grounds, with seating available on a first come, first served basis.

Entry to the Arboretum is free, but booking your visit in advance is recommended to guarantee entry, and save on parking (£4 in advance, £6 on the day)

Togetherall: Neurodiversity Celebration Week Support

We all experience and interact with the world in a way that makes sense to us. Neurodiversity highlights the idea that there's no one right way to think, learn, behave or feel.

People think differently, which means we can also utilise different ways to feel better. With Togetherall, members can share their experiences and share community.​

Read more about Neurodiversity in @Togetherall's blog post.

The British Army's Got Talent 2024

 

Army Benevolent Fund: Cateran Yomp - the Ultimate Charity Walk

 

For more information and to register for the walk, please visit:
https://events.armybenevolentfund.org/cateranyomp