Veterans Aid has become the new charitable partner of the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) and will benefit from its support for the next three years.
Marcus Simson, CE of the HAC said, ‘’We are delighted to support Veterans Aid as our sponsored charity. We have a shared commitment to those who have served and value the vital and tailored services Veterans Aid provides. These programs restore dignity, stability, and purpose, helping veterans and their families thrive rather than merely survive. Too often they are the only thing that prevents tragedy.
“The HAC is clear that all of its support to Veterans Aid will go directly to helping those in need. For the HAC, contributing time or resources is a tangible way to express our gratitude, uphold our shared values and ensure that those who protected our freedoms are never left behind and remembered with respect – always, everywhere.’’
HAC soldiers on exercise.
A number of fundraising initiatives will be launched over the coming months, and there are many ways for HAC members to contribute. These include sponsored physical challenges, raffles and auctions, or incorporating donations into ticketed events.
CEO of VA, Prof Hugh Milroy said, “We were delighted and honoured to have the value of our work acknowledged in this way by the HAC. VA deals with the consequences of crisis and poverty; issues that don’t sit comfortably with the public image of military heroism and glamour. In fact, we operate in the real world, practicing the real values of the military family where ‘man down’ is a call to immediate action. As an organisation that spends hardly anything on advertising or self-promotion, we are singularly mindful of how valuable support from organisations like the HAC can be in helping us reach donors and – more importantly – those who so desperately need our help.”
The two organisations also share a relationship with the church of St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate whose links with both are strong. St Botolph’s is home to the HAC’s Regimental Chapel, which commemorates members of the Company who died in conflicts. It also houses the engraving of Hogarth’s Good Samaritan gifted by Veterans Aid to the church, as a symbol of its own partnership with the church.
HAC members can support the work of Veterans Aid in the following ways:
