Hi all,
I’ve entered a charity event which has a very personal meaning to me.
Both my Dad and Father in Law took part in WWII on D Day 1944, my Dad as a tailgunner in a Lancaster bomber dropping bombs on the Normandy coast line to take out gun emplacements to prevent them from shelling the beaches and the landing ships and my father in law (Geoffrey Barkway) who piloted and landed a glider within a few yards of a bridge now known as Pegasus Bridge.
On that particular mission there were 6 gliders, with 186 personel on board, 5 gliders made it to their designated landing zone and 1 managed to go astray and landed 10 miles away.
The charity event has been organised by The Veterans Charity, they give immediate support to our many veterans who find themselves sometimes with nothing !
I’m going to run/walk 75 miles in 24 hours on D Day 2019 which will be the 75th anniversary of D Day to hopefully raise in excess of £1000, as is another 185 runners including my own son and step daughter.
If you are able to I would be forever grateful if you were able to donate something to my Virginmoney page.
Thanks for reading.

DONATE


An example of what the Veterans Charity does with your money...
RAPID REACTION FOR HOMELESS HERO

Late last night, we were contacted by a friend of the charity who had discovered a homeless Veteran whilst on his way home.

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The Veteran in question served with Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (PWRR) and had been living with his parents but his mental health has declined and sadly the relationship deteriorated, resulting in him being asked to leave around 6 months ago.

He has been 'sofa-surfing' and rough sleeping since.

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Deeply concerned that he was about to spend a wet and cold night in the local park in a tent he had been given, he managed to contact a friend who allowed him to sleep in his living room for the night. However, he had nothing sorted for the rest of the weekend and was facing more time on the streets.

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So last night, we sourced a nearby hotel and paid for a room for 2 nights, keeping him safe and dry for the rest of the weekend and allowing time for a more permanent housing solution to be sourced. We are talking to some contacts already and hope to have something for him by Monday.

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We spoke to him a short while ago and whilst he is safe and dry, he is hungry as he hasn't eaten and has just £2 to his name so a tasty pizza with sides, drinks and a dessert is now on its way to him to make sure he is well fed.



We received a heart-warming call from him to say "I'm in the hotel now and I can't believe it! I've never stayed in somewhere like or or had such amazing support - thank you so, so, much!!"

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It is a very sad fact that Veterans can end up on the streets and whilst we do not generally deal with housing needs, there seemed little options for him last night or over the weekend (he has tried a few places) so we felt we had to act.

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No Red Tape - Just Support!


Geoff Barkway