Summer Camp 2015 - the best yet?

18th June and I fall really ill, so ill....the day before the biggest weekend in the calendar for the charity I was absolutely devastated.

Luckily I have the most amazing husband who dosed me up and got me to Pirbright on 19th June ready for the arrival of 300 people who were coming to Summer Camp, the sun was shining down and some of my very good friends came to get us set up and sit on the check in desk welcoming all the families arriving. Summer Camp has begun!

Saturday was a day full of events; Survival, Woodland cookery, Climbing wall, Dance, Craft, Circus skills, Swimming, Football with Chelsea FC Foundation and then rain...the rain came and oh it was a storm! Under cover we were still having fun with Laser Quest, Inflatables, Crazy Golf, Bouldering, Dazzle & Fizz, Cross bow and tin can alley! (which I was particularly bad at!)

I walked back to the site with my husband reflecting on the day so proud to see all the tents pitched, hearing all the Little Troopers talk about their day.

A Little Trooper made my Saturday, Mason came running up to me and he'd made me a loom band bracelet to say thank you for all the fun he'd had, I was so touched....I'm still wearing it now. Those moments make all the hard work worthwhile.

The rain didn't last but the fun did, Sunday was another day of activities with Orienteering and Pop Academy with lots of Little Troopers singing their little hearts out! I always get a little emotional watching the show at the end of a Pop Academy and I did cry a tear or two!

Summer Camp is exactly what I wanted to achieve with setting up the charity, families connecting and spending time together, no electronics just a field and fun all together....new friends and old...one big community.

I hugged so many, chatted so much about the future for Little Troopers and came away thinking it was the best Summer Camp yet......I can not wait for next year our 5th annual camp and I came away feeling a new sense of motivation to continue and fight to ensure the charity remains for all the Little Troopers.

Here's to us sticking together!

Louise xxxxxx

Why aren't they important enough?

I often only blog when I feel I have a swell of emotion for something, passionate posts always seem so much easier to write and this one has been brewing for a while!

Why is it that children of servicemen or women who aren't in 'crisis' but face unique challenges every day aren't seen as a worthy cause to support? Why aren't Little Troopers important enough?

I created the charity due to my own daughter really struggling with what comes with being the child of a soldier and not being able to find support for her, over the last four years is has become apparent that many other children need support too.
These children are the majority with over 100,000 Little Troopers and yes many of them are not in 'crisis' but they DO still need support to deal with separation from a soldier parent, they DO need to feel like they belong to something due to constant moving and they DO deserve recognition.

I have applied to every forces charity, I have applied numerous times for LIBOR funding, I have applied over and over again for grants, I even met the Prime Minister and wrote to him and the Defence Secretary (without response) but NO ONE sees this cause as one they want to help. We have hardly any pennies in the bank to sustain and grow our support for so many who rely on it yet I know it is needed so volunteer all the spare time I have to continue, but I consistently ask myself why don't various parties see our Little Troopers as important enough?

I write this post today as a further £75m is pledged from LIBOR fines to military charities, this is great news and some really deserving causes in the list...not one that will solely benefit military children and their unique challenges read about todays LIBOR announcement in total a reported £450m LIBOR funds has gone to military charities read more here...every tranche we have applied and every time turned down but why? nothing in the list that is available suggests it is going to an initiative to support specifically the needs of 174,000 service children with no 'crisis' no additional problems just the factor that they are a child of a person who has chosen a unique career demanding total commitment that can affect their everyday life.

It makes me so sad.

I wont give up on these children or My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures, I want this support to be tri service  to support Army, Navy & RAF families and I know as a community we can make it happen and prove this support is important, it is making a difference and it is most definitely a cause worth supporting.

Together we are Stronger.

Louise xxx

The reason....

It has been a while since a blogpost, I always think they should come from the heart and my heart has been touched recently; over the months I meet so many families, wonderful people and adorable Little Troopers.....ALL special but sometimes a situation touches me and makes me even more determined to reach as many British Army families as possible.

Increasingly we get turned down for funding, people saying that our cause isn't t worthy or  'sensational' enough but I know that everyone who has leaned on the charity would disagree, its a needed charity, it's one of a kind and it is supporting thousands on very little income. The emails and comments we receive on a daily basis show Little Troopers DO face unique challenges due to their parents serving and they DO require support, resources and recognition especially when a soldier parent is away.

The world is changing, people live differently and everyones situation is individual yet support never seemed adaptable...people divorce, people choose not to marry, people choose to buy their own house, people choose to be unaccompanied, but one thing remains the common thread children have soldiers who serve in the British Army and they are sent away for varying times due to their job.

In the summer we ran an event in Colchester, a lovely lady attended with her two little boys and her story really struck a cord and I tell many people their story because it proves the point I am always trying to make;

They were mid twenties, had a house and two children....one day her partner decided he wanted to join the Army, a decision which she supported, 7 months later he had done training and was in Afghanistan, her life had been turned upside down in a matter of months, it was an alien environment to her, they hadn't managed to move into Army housing and lived miles away from her partners base, she felt isolated and her children needed slowly integrating into their new life. She sought out My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures and here she was at an event miles from home wanting to get support and be part of the My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures Community. I think that day she showed real bravery.

I have followed their journey and received a lovely email this week from the family thanking us for the support, the events, the separation packs they bought, the panto tickets they won....we have helped and eased the pain of the separation for those children and their mummy and given the soldier the knowledge his family was supported. We have achieved our main objective as a charity.

I know that this charity matters and families who make an impression make it worthwhile, all the people we connect with make it worthwhile. Everyone has their own story, their own situation but one thing is certain the community that is growing is supporting everyone with a soldier parent............regardless.

2012...what a year!

WOW what a year 2012 was, we provided events across the country for over 1272, we had over 15,000 visits to our blog and met so many special Little Troopers.

The biggest thing for many is a community is growing, friendships are being forged and the support is very real and people can draw so much from being with others living a similar life.

Not rank dependant, not regiment dependant, not location dependant, not corps dependant just dependant on you being a British Army family and wanting to be part of My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures.

Something really special is evolving and it has honestly been one of the most amazing years of my life and we cant wait for more of you to join our community and the adventures we go on with the Little Troopers!

Heres to 2013 but first....heres a reminder of an amazing 2012!!!!

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

Going full circle...

I'm not from a particularly military background, my grandad was in the Navy but that's about it I think. I joined up through a complete if you can't beat them join them scenario and before I knew it I was being flown out to Germany to my first unit after a whirlwind of basic and trade training. There I stayed until 2006.

It was the best years of my life serving in the British Army, I loved it, I grew as a person, I learnt so much, I met so many life long friends, laughed so hard, earned a medal, had so many life changing experiences and of course I met my man! It honestly was THE best days of my life.

Various circumstances followed and I ended up leaving the forces and being a mummy. I went back to my old job in my old unit but as a civilian with better hours than I had when I was serving! I bobbed along in the Army bubble for a few more years.

It's a strange bubble, your post goes to the regiment not your house, my hoover belonged to the army, the magazines you were reading in Germany were a week out of date, we had to buy fuel coupons to get petrol, you worked and lived and socialised with the same people it honestly can be all consuming.

We got posted to UK and quite frankly I wanted to eradicate all Army from my life, I wanted to run away from it, for so long it had been my whole life, my job, social network, my everything.

We made a decision to buy a house, I went back to college, started a corporate job role, our little one started a predominantly non military school and we lived 40 minutes away from the barracks...I'd got what I wanted. A civilian life wholly and completely.

It was great...for a little while.

Then I realised that the community, the help of that community and the security blanket the Army had always given me had gone. I felt naked.

The last tour taught me many things and one very important lesson which has now lead to the creation of My Daddy is a Soldier Adventures, we all NEED each other, we all understand this strange army life and we can all be one community. That's what we want to achieve.

I've come full circle, right back to where I started...I've fallen in love again with this strange army life and I'm proud of what we represent. 'Im proud to have served and I'm proud to be an army family and lets all stick together.

Here's to creating a supportive, valuable community we can ALL rely on in this strange army life.

xxx