Guest Blog - Huggable Heroes

Happy New Year! Lets start 2016 with a blogpost....

Our last guest blogpost from an unacompanied military family was so popular (read again HERE) I asked Jo a wife of a Royal Marine to write a post about her business Huggable Heroes.
Jo attended our Summer Camp in 2015 and her Huggable Heroes are a great resource for military children, hope you like reading the post with a cuppa.

Louise xxxx

My name is Jo, I am a Military Wife, living in a married quarter with my husband and two beautiful Children 6 hours from home…..

Have you heard of Huggable Heroes? I am known as the ‘Huggable Heroes Lady’, which I secretly Love.

Huggable Heroes are helping military children with a loved one working away cope with Separation Anxiety, a design of making a photo of the loved one into a cuddly toy to help them express their feelings of sadness, anger, loneliness, happiness and love.

By simply having their hero to cuddle at bedtime or to take to their first day at school, Mummy or Daddy will not ‘miss’ a thing.

Our very own Huggable Heroes have helped me to understand when the children are upset either missing or mad with Daddy, helping me to know how to respond to them in the best way.  Daddy was with us at both children’s first days at Pre School and is a regular at Swimming Lessons and Ballet…

Charlotte (4 years) is fascinating to watch with her Hero. She gives Daddy the most amazing cuddles and reads to him. When she is mad that he is working away she tells Daddy off. He has been known to sit on the naughty step and has even been thrown across the room on more than one occasion! (I would like to add, I do not throw anyone or anything across the room when I am angry!)

Henry (My 2 year old) enjoys rough and tumble with Daddy, he knows he is only allowed to do this with Daddy and yes I have found him doing ‘Big Daddy Splashes’ on his Hero!

Another huge difference I have found since having Huggable Heroes in our lives is the time it takes for the children to reconnect with Daddy when he gets home. In the past they would shy away from Daddy, clinging to me for hours on end (which as you know is heartbreaking for all involved). Charlotte and Henry now take Daddy his hero to show him, reducing the reunite time dramatically and I put this down to Daddy still being such a huge part of a daily routine even when he is away.

Huggable Heroes have 100% reinforced the bond between them.

If you would like to see some customer reviews on Huggable Heroes, please check out the ‘Posts to Page’ on Facebook, we have received 100% positive feedback that Huggable Heroes have helped to Reduce Separation Anxiety in our brave children. (www.Facebook.com/HuggableHeroes)

I launched Huggable Heroes in January 2015 after spending 8 months making them for family and friends and realising just how much they help other families.

Since Launching in January last year Huggable Heroes have helped more than 500 Children! We hope that in 2016 we can reach out to more military families struggling with Separation Anxiety.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my guest Blog, I look forward to meeting some of you in the coming months.

Stay Strong

Lots of Love

Jo (AKA Huggable Heroes Lady)

PS If you would like to buy a Huggable Hero, please follow this link to the shop on Little Troopers website. I will donate 10% to Little Troopers for each Hero they sell.

PPS I would be honored if you would help me reach more families by sharing us on Facebook or requesting some flyers or posters for your local coffee mornings.

www.Facebook.com/HuggableHeroes

Today is the day!!!

2011 seems so long ago now....so much has happened in that space of time.

This is a picture of where it all began, me and my much smaller Little Trooper at the summit of Snowdon, my friends and family all rallied round to support the trek I wanted to do to distract my Little Trooper from the pain she was feeling from be constantly, repeatedly separated from her soldier daddy. You can read more about the 2011 trek here

Post the trek My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures was born and over the last 4 years its been a rocky but rewarding road to see the charity grow into such a worthwhile community for forces families.

I always like to dream big and there is so much I want to achieve for military families but expanding the charity to include RAF and Royal Navy families was always top of my list.
It has taken a long time to reach where we are today, lots of lessons been learnt, lots of people who have supported the growth and help make it happen but waking up this morning I had the biggest smile on my face...

WE ARE NOW THE FIRST TRI-SERVICE CHILDRENS CHARITY FOR SERVING UK ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL!!!!!!!!!!

Little Troopers is our new charity name and we look forward to welcoming lots of new Royal Navy and Royal Air Force families to the community as well as the British Army families we already support. Regardless of service, children experience repeated separation and we want to be there to support all the Little Troopers of our British Armed Forces.

Visit our new website: www.littletroopers.net



This has been an amazing journey so far and I am so pleased we have reached this milestone, there are so many people supporting this cause and making this happen....I couldn't do this on my own.

I can't wait to meet lots of you in the coming months, we are holding launch events for RAF and Royal Navy families in early 2016, we have our Snowdon weekend event in April and of course Summer Camp in June!

Thank you from me for the continued support, here's to the next chapter!

Louise xxxxx

We Won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The last 6 weeks or so have been a whirlwind since we got the call telling us we had been nominated and were in the running for the Support to the Armed Forces Award at the 2014 Sun Military Awards or 'Millies' as they are known.

It was a lovely experience doing some filming throughout November to create a 4 minute film showcasing the work of My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures and why we exist.

On 10th December 2014 I was invited to 10 Downing Street for a reception with all the other nominees, we had a police escort and three coaches of service personnel and others arrived at lunchtime. It was a great experience and so beautiful inside especially as the Christmas decorations were up!

 



On the evening of 10th December all nominees and guests were taken to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. It was so amazing to walk up the red carpet and the venue was awash with Royalty and celebrities everywhere you looked! After a champagne and canapé reception we were asked to take our seats.
Philip Schofield and Amanda Holden were presenting the evening which was amazing from start to finish, the third award to be announced was Support to the Armed Forces and as soon as they started the film I knew we had won as my daughter was on the huge screen! I cried my eyes out it was so overwhelming and then I had to walk up on stage!!!
Jeremy Clarkson and Mary Berry presented the award to me and they were so delightful and put me at ease before I had to say a few words...I don't even remember what I said now!!!
There were some surprises on stage but I will not spoil it before the show has aired.....you will have to watch on 18th December ITV at 8.30pm.

It was amazing for Little Troopers to get this recognition and I couldn't be prouder to be part of My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures. Don't forget to watch A Night of Heroes on ITV 18th December!

Snowdon Challenge Weekend - April 6th 2013

What a weekend!!!!

It was a rocky road getting the challenge ready, with the adverse weather conditions and changing to a Plan B it really was touch and go if it would go ahead at all. There was so much snow on the mountains there was no way we could have reached the summit.

6 months of planning and organising paid off though and WE DID IT! We successfully completed with many others our Snowdon Challenge 2013!

At this point we must say a huge thank you to Boulder Adventures Claire and Tom were amazing and without them this challenge would not have happened. Thank you so so much.

As a group of 56 (much lower than anticipated due to drops outs at change of challenge) we abseiled 2170m which is the equivalent to the height up and down Snowdon. Every single person completed an abseil or more and our youngest Little Trooper to abseil was just 4 years old, such an achievement for all.

It took from 9am - 4pm of constant abseiling to complete our challenge but no one was going to give up and the cheers when we knew we'd completed it rang throughout the quarry! Everyone so so pleased that together as group we had acheieved what we came to do.


Little Austin 4 years old

Many of the group also completed a 5 mile trek of the Llanberis Lake in addition to the adseil so truely gave their all to the challenge and indeed the cause.

The weekend was about more then an abseil though, so many took so much away from the weekend. It was about being with others who understood, meeting new friends, sharing something truly unique and being part of something none of us will forget in a hurry.

One family really touched my heart on the weekend and I wanted to share why, it encapsulates why we started the charity and why we are so privileged to meet so many British Army families and Little Troopers.

A lovely family of  mum, son and daughter attended our challenge weekend, daddy is in Afghanistan and has been since October 2012. To witness how strongly they were bonded and how supportive they were of each other was utterly heart warming. I was sat on a rock watching the little girl come down her abseil, so bravely at 7 years old and her older brother waiting so proudly at the bottom, he then gallantly ran back up to cheer mum on for her abseil. I was sat in the tranquil sun having a chat with the little girl waiting for her mummy to conquer her challenge 'Mummy' she shouted 'Close your eyes and think of daddy, that will get you down' A tear rolled down my face, it was a moment in time... a Little Trooper who is currently going through a separation from a soldier parent yet being so positive and supportive to others, my lip is currently quivering writing this post, such a special moment I was a part of, one I will never forget and such a inspirationaly brave and strong family. As mummy landed safely at the bottom of the abseil I stood back, the little girl hugged her mummy 'Mummy, Daddy will be so proud, we have so much to tell him now when he gets home in 2 weeks'

Right there in front of me was our reason, our motivation and why we are so passionately working hard for the charity to grow so we can support as many British Army families and Little Troopers as possible.

This challenge raised £3,000 and rising and I know that every single person that attended went home with a smile on their faces, a feeling of achievement and knowing they had been part of something special with others in a similar situation.

Two years on from the first trek and what we have achieved blows my mind but there so much more we want to achieve....join us as we move into our next chapter xxxxx

You can still donate to the Snowdon Challenge here: Donate Here



Louise & Linda after the challenge in Llanberis, Snowdonia



Me and my Soldier

I witnessed a moment, a special moment between my soldier and my Little Trooper earlier in the summer;

It was such a spontaneous, heart felt moment I wanted to capture it without them knowing and preserve it forever.

Children of soldiers' face unique challenges on a daily basis but they are so very proud. I know my child holds her daddy in her heart, has a sad face when he leaves and beams when he arrives home, it truly melts me every time I witness their closeness.

We knew many other Little Troopers across the world would be capturing special moments with their soldiers and we knew these would be perfect to bring together in a calendar. An amazing way to celebrate British Army soldiers and their children!

'Me and my Soldier' was launched across the world in a quest to get as many special photos or drawings of Little Troopers and their soldiers sent into us at My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures, the competition closes on 28th September 2012 when the 12 chosen entries will be announced. Prizes also to be won for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

The 2013 calenders will go straight into print and go on general sale mid October and can be pre ordered via our online shop: Pre Order 2013 Little Trooper Calendar here

With every entry that comes into competition@mydaddyisasoldieradventures.org we shed a tear and we feel honoured you are sharing these precious moments with us, judging will be so hard but for now keep those entries coming in and know that this really will be a calendar like no other to cherish and we will all be privileged to see a glimpse into the amazing bond between a Little Trooper and their soldier.

Little Troopers....very special children

A Little Trooper is a child of a serving British Army soldier, doesn't matter how old they are they will always be a Little Trooper! Over the last year we have met lots and lots of Little Troopers, in fact we have run events for over 1,000 already since December 2011.
They are the reason My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures exists and they are the reason we have spent so many great days running various events across the country this year.

Children of soldiers' are special, they are resilient and strong but they also face unique challenges on a daily basis often being separated from a parent when they are sent away from the family home on duty for long periods of time.

After events Little Troopers come and thank us for running the event when really we should be thanking them, for being such joys to work with and such a rewarding group of children. They clearly get so much from being in the company of other British Army children where there is an unspoken understanding that all in the room 'get it' and they are, for that day, distracted from their current situation which maybe that they haven't spoken to Mummy or Daddy for a couple of weeks.

We were sent a letter recently a Little Trooper sent to his Mums workplace, we cried tears that the charity and events had obviously made and impact and we want to share his words:

My name is XXXXX and I am 12.  My mum works for XXXXXX and has done for a long time. 

I am writing to you for help in donating to My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures which is a charity that has helped me and my sister a lot and I want to help them back.  My dad is a soldier and is away a lot, he is away now and has been for 6 months.   My daddy is a soldier was set up by 2 army mums who organise fun days and weekends for military children whilst their mum or dad is away.  I have been on lots since my dad went away, I got to go to their xmas party in London and Harrods gave us a xmas present, I had football training with Chelsea Football Club and learnt to make pasta with Jamie Oliver but what means more to me is I got to meet and make new friends.

Making new friends is the most important to me as I can share how I feel because I know they are missing their dads too.  We help each other because I know when I am sad it makes my mum sad too and I know my mum really misses my dad when he is away.

My dad is going to Afghan at xmas and I really really hope we can raise lots of money for them so I can continue to meet lots of new friends.

Thank you for reading this letter and I hope you can help?

THANK YOU to all the Little Troopers for the smiles we witness, the laughs we see and the strong children you are and continue to be.

To close this blogpost we wanted to share the poem of the Military Child:

The official flower of the Military child is the Dandelion. Why?

The plant puts down roots almost anywhere, and it's almost impossible to destroy. It's an unpretentious plant, yet good looking.

It's a survivor in a broad range of climates.

Military children bloom everywhere the winds carry them. They are hardy and upright. Their roots are strong, cultivated deeply in the culture of the military,...... planted swiftly and surely. They're ready to fly in the breezes that take them to new adventures, new lands, and new friends

.

Military children are well-rounded, culturally aware, tolerant, and extremely resilient. Military children have learned from an early age that home is where their hearts are, that a good friend can be found in every corner of the world and in every color, and that education doesn't only come from school. They live history.

They learn that to survive means to adapt, that the door that closes one chapter of their life opens up to a new and exciting adventure full of new friends and new experiences.  

FOR THE LITTLE TROOPERS AT HOME

It's not a competition

I felt compelled to write this post, maybe brave, maybe stupid but none the less I think I will feel better afterwards and that's what a blog is for right? for sharing and gaining opinion.


Our journey with My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures has been up and down, some joyous moments and some tough moments but the common thread through all is our reason for doing this.

We never set out to start a charity it was never an ambition or want of ours, we decided to do it in reaction to something not being available when we needed it. It was an answer to a problem and there was/is nothing else out there specifically for British Army children especially when they have a parent away, if there was we wouldn't have done it we would have used that resource. We don't want to duplicate anything.


The third sector is a new experience for both of us, the military third sector is something we've never entered before and it is almost a current trend to enter it and 'jump on the bandwagon' and wow we have learnt some lessons.

Where we thought it would be a cosy, huggy, welcoming arena we were shocked when this hasn't been our experience. Where we thought people would rush to help us and advise we were wrong.

The people and organisations we thought would be supportive are not, they seem defensive and threatened. We've met with many of them to share our ideas and more often then not I have come out crying, crushed that people see our cause as a dilution of the military third sector.


So we steam on and our grit and determination and experience keeps us going regardless.


British Army children DO face unique challenges and they DO live a different life to other children and we are so passionate that we want this recognised and those children supported. All of them.


Its not a competition there is room for all of us, everything we have achieved has been through cheekiness, hard work, asking and a having a cause that people want to support. We aren't diluting, we are offering something that didn't exist before and we want to bring together everything that does exist to British Army families so there is no duplication and people know everything that is currently available.


So we continue, every time we don't get an email response from an organisation we would hope we would, every time we get a 'we can't support your cause' response from people who you think we absolutely should and every time we receive a 'but do Army children REALLY face anything different to civilian children' reply it makes us stronger and more determined.


Its not a competition and there is no winner.

Makes it worthwhile....

The last couple of months have been overwhelming, tough, a huge learning curve and to be honest a little stressful.

This week we have received emails for the Christmas Party, requesting your children be added to the list, so many people are in situations where My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures will help and so many of the emails bring a tear to my eye. Why?
Emotionally I may bury the scars of deployment but; I know that feeling of being on your own, partner on tour and the desperation of 'I need to get out this house', do something with my child(ren) that's fun and uplifting, wear a smile and be with others that understand and where I don't have to explain my situation or why it might be hard right now. Be in a comfort zone.

Something huge that has come to our notice recently is that many of you, myself soon to be included, are married unaccompanied and that has its unique challenges too along with deployment and I want to support you guys.

So what makes it worthwhile?! YOU DO, knowing that we can all get together with our children this Christmas and celebrate our soldiers, this odd life we call 'Army Life' and be proud of our Little Troopers at home...

My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures  Free Christmas Party is on 21st December 2011 12.30 - 4pm at The Victory Services Club in central London http://www.vsc.co.uk/ Santa, Entertainment, Food, Disco and much more! Email xmas@mydaddyisasoldieradventures.org with the children attending and ages.

We can not wait to meet you all xxx

My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures has been born!!!!!!!!!!

I promised we would be back and we are!!!! We have been so excited to tell you all about our plans and for our dream to begin becoming a reality....

Last year was a really tough one for many reasons for my daughter and I but I learnt many things, the biggest thing being I want to raise awareness of what army children have to contend with at such a young age and I wanted alongside Linda to help distract and provide comfort for army children with a parent away from the family home.

Researchers have found that children with parents who are deployed to war tend to worry more and be afraid and sad. During war, a child may feel their world is less safe and predictable. Children may fear that the parent who is deployed may die in the war. We have experienced this first hand and this is why we want to help.  We want to help the children explore the destination of where the absent parent has gone, we want to design workshops and activities to help offer a distraction to their current family situation and offer the comfort of a secondary community where others understand.

And so in June 2011 My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures was born!!!

Our aim is to provide easily accessible activities via the web, and activity workshops, bookable online for all British Army children with a parent serving away from the family home to attend, offering a distraction to the child at this difficult time. 

We see a time in the future when British Army Children will benefit from various nationwide workshops and activities covering many different interests, run by My Daddy is a Solider Adventures and appointed regional co-coordinators, in time these would spread worldwide to where the British Army serve and their families live. 

Our children will be able to have a positive experience with our events with children in a similar situation. 

Our ultimate goal is to open a residential adventure centre available to all British Army Children with a parent away providing a retreat with planned activities offering respite in a community environment.

We are in the process of exploring initial funding to launch the site and beginning the journey to making a difference to the lives of British Army children, if you think you can help us in raising the funds, offering workshops or resources do make contact with us!

We shall also be running the annual My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures fundraising challenge in June 2012 which is going to be really exciting and we hope many more british army children will be coming along and joining in the challenge - we will be announcing more details soon!!

If you would like any further information or would like to help us on our journey then contact the founders:

Linda.Trickett@mydaddyisasoldieradventures.org

Louise.Fetigan@mydaddyisasoldieradventures.org

So there we are, that’s what we have been working on over the last few months and this will be our main focus in the coming months.  I know so many of you relate to this and we can't wait for the My Daddy community to grow.

Look forward to updating you very soon.......

A daddy returns to Afghanistan...

Two weeks (just under) of rest leave flys by...you long for it to arrive and then it is over. The first week can be unsettling with the second week often being the best week you have had for months! We had a ball and squeezed as much in as possible including some filming!



Madison & Daddy at Ludlow Castle

BFBS News came and we recorded a lovely little piece which I think we will treasure forever, I'd like to say a huge thank you to Sue Kinnear the reporter at BFBS who truely is fantastic, heres the piece:
http://www.bfbs.com/news/uk/forces-children-take-mountain-challenge-help-heroes-44690.html

The seperation cycle starts all over again...as you near the end of the two weeks.....theres nothing you can do, it is out of your control, they are going back.
Listening to him read the last bedtime story of the two weeks is heartbreaking with Madison whispering 'I don't want you to go daddy' and griping on for dear life for minutes on end....shes had her daddy back and slowly has felt safe and secure again.
Army children face so many challenges and sometimes these are sometimes forgotton...I read an interesting article recently...sourced from the US yes but the challenges are the same:  http://www.jdnews.com/opinion/new-88543-military-life.html

When shes fast asleep a cleanly shaven daddy, smartly dressed in fresh uniform with his bag on his back leaves the house into the dark with a huge hug and an 'I'll be home before you know it' he wipes a tear from my cheek...I can almost hear my heart break a little bit....

He WILL be home soon though, the hardest, longest part is behind us and once again I am flying the flag for the Fetigan house....it is what us forces families do best! End of tour will be upon us in a flash...May is only round the corner.

So onwards with the week and with only 5 days until the trek there is so much to keep us busy until once again we are united as a family and Madison has her daddy back :-) xxx