Gifts I’m grateful for this year

As the Little Troopers open their presents today, I thought I would share with you the things that I have been grateful for this year. 

The first is the incredible support from you; our supporters and the Little Troopers. We have had a fun year with our second trip to Germany, this time Paderborn and a trip to Northern Ireland planned for January 2015.  We’ve sent out thousands of Separation Packs, written hundreds of Birthday cards for Little Troopers and you’ve bought lots and lots of hoodies to show your support.

Second was our amazing Summer Camp where over 300 people camped out, got together and shared their experiences of being part of the Army family.  This sharing continued online through the Facebook, gathering ideas and coping mechanisms for the time our soldiers are away.

The third is the thing that makes this all possible – Fundraising. I can’t believe that you have raised over £15,000 this year purely from fundraising activities and donations so we can continue to support our Little Troopers. The £1,000 that we recently received from Tesco (as part of my nomination for Mum of the Year) has really helped us develop our website and add to the community section to help even more families connect.

And finally… we have received some amazing media coverage this year from the Calendar appearing in several National Newspapers to sharing your stories in Magazines and of course the Military Awards ‘Milles’ in December 2014.

Although life can be quite mad sometimes, I feel privileged to run this charity and I can’t wait to see what 2015 brings.

 

I want to thank all of you personally from the bottom of my heart for supporting My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures and Little Troopers over the last year and I can't wait to meet lots more of you very soon.  

 

I’ll sign off with one of my favourite messages from this year:

“Wow oh wow! To be apart of today and your amazing charity! I am overwhelmed by today my boys had such an amazing experience I cannot thank you enough for everything you do for our military children.”

 

Lots of love, Louise xxxx

Here's a few of my fav photos with Little Troopers I've met:

With a Little Trooper in Cottesmore

At Lapland UK with some Little Troopers

At the Millies with some Little Troopers who surprised me on stage!

 

We need your support now more than ever

The dust has settled a little after a very exciting week and I really wanted to blog in answer to a question I keep getting asked;

"Afghanistan is over now so all the soldiers are at home aren't they"

 

 

I really wish this was true, I wish with all my heart that this Christmas every family would have their soldier with them by the tree but that just isn't the case.

 

The British Army have many commitments and these are changing constantly in the UK and abroad and this takes soldiers away from the family home, ok so not all these commitments make the headlines and not all of them are combat zones but they do still mean elongated separation of a soldier and child, the added complication of this to a child is that it's over and over again constant separation of varying lengths.

 

Please don't think that because operations aren't in the news they aren't happening because they are, every single day of the year there are Little Troopers with a soldier parent away and it is so important today and every day we are here to support them and ensure they are connected and bonded with the soldier who's away.

 

How can you help?

 

We want to ensure we are ALWAYS here for British Army families and our dream is an Adventure Centre.

 

The Adventure Centre will be a focal point for families to make memories prior to a separation and to reconnect post a separation period. While soldiers are away we would offer weekends so families can meet others in a similar situation. The centre would provide various adventure activities, which would be varied throughout the year.

Being in an Army family is a unique experience, our Little Troopers have a lot to contend with.  We can’t stop the loneliness and fear children feel when their parent is away, but we can make them feel safe, secure and distracted so they don’t reach crisis point.

To achieve our centre we are launching a Fundraising campaign to raise £1million.  This would cover:

• Refurbishment of a building to accommodate 25 families with common areas and an administration building
• Catering areas - kitchen, dining
• Adventure equipment - climbing wall, high ropes course, equipment store
• An activity hall for indoor activities
• Resource area for day courses for families
• A project manager
• Transport

You can help us by signing up to our Fundraising Trek in April or clicking here to make a donation.

 

Help me make the dream happen for Little Troopers. Louise xxx

 

 

 

 

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!