7th Auguct 2007
THE ROYAL AIR FORCE BENEVOLENT FUND MAKES LEAD GIFT TO
THE ROYAL STAR & GARTER HOMES 90TH ANNIVERSARY APPEAL
Simon Weston, Vice President of The Royal Star & Garter Charity for disabled ex-Service men and women, has announced that the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund has made a £2 million contribution to the Charity’s 90th Anniversary Appeal. The Appeal aims to raise £15 million (over three years) to fund the building of two new Royal Star & Garter Homes, the first of which will open in Solihull in 2008.
Speaking at the Charity’s prestigious Polo Day at the Royal Leamington Spa Polo Club, Simon told invited guests that the RAF Benevolent Fund grant will be used to fund the Dementia Care Wing at the new home in Solihull as well as an area within the new home planned for South West London.
“This development programme of new homes is vital if we are to meet the growing need for residential care for elderly and frail ex-Service people” Simon said. “We are enormously grateful to RAF Benevolent Fund for this significant contribution, which will help us to achieve our vision for the future. I hope other Trusts and Foundations will also consider supporting this very important project”.
Air Marshal Sir Robert Wright, Controller of the RAF Benevolent Fund said, “We are delighted to be able to make such a significant contribution to The Royal Star & Garter’s 90th Anniversary Appeal. With over a quarter of the Home’s residents being ex-RAF, this donation is an excellent example of how we can effectively and efficiently deliver the best possible support for those of our family who are in need”.
The Polo Match at the Royal Leamington Spa Polo ground featured the Hackett Army Polo Team competing against an RLS select team for the Royal Star & Garter Challenge Cup. The RLS Team won 4-1. Chairman of the Army Team, Lt Col Simon Ledger, was commentator.
It was a perfect sunny day at the Polo ground where 80 invited guests enjoyed a champagne reception and lunch before the match. Dr Dallas Burston, owner of the Polo Club, allowed the Charity access to the Jubilee Marquee for the event as his contribution.
About The Royal Star & Garter Charity – founded in 1916.
The Royal Star & Garter Charity has been caring for disabled ex-Service personnel since 1916. The Charity offers the best in nursing and therapeutic care for anyone who is physically disabled or incapacitated and has served in Her Majesty’s Forces, and their widows, spouses or partners. There are also a wide variety of leisure activities available for residents to enjoy, both internally and at outside venues. The Royal Star & Garter Charity is embarking on an ambitious and wide reaching project to build new homes, in the South West London area and elsewhere, to provide specialist care for elderly disabled ex-Service people in the best modern surroundings and, for the first time, will include a specialist dementia care wing to address this growing need. The first of these prestigious new homes will open in Solihull, the West Midlands, in the summer of 2008.
The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund
The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund was established in 1919 by Lord Trenchard, just one year after he founded the Royal Air Force, with the aim of providing support for veterans returning from World War 1 and the families of those who did not return. Although the size and scope of the charity’s work has increased dramatically, its purpose remains the same. Last year the Fund spent some £20M supporting members of the RAF family in need, including the provision of 91 grants to other charities worth an estimated £2.7 million. It is anticipated that over 106,000 members of the RAF family will have benefited directly from these and other grants. For more information about the RAF Benevolent Fund, visit www.rafbf.org
- ends -
FURTHER INFO:
Patsy Willis, Director of Fundraising & Public Relations, The Royal Star & Garter Homes
TEL: 020 8439 8110 or EMAIL: patsy.willis@starandgarter.org