Servicemen's charity reaches £17 million
A WILTSHIRE couple’s charity to help severely wounded servicemen has now raised £17m in just 17 months.
The Help for Heroes was founded by cartoonist Bryn Parry and wife Emma, from Downton near Salisbury after Bryn visited military amputees in 2007 and were moved by their plight. Based at Tidworth on the Salisbury Plain the charity has already ploughed more than £12 million into improving facilities for seriously wounded personnel returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.
Of that, around £8.5 million has gone towards a swimming pool and gym at Headley Court, a rehabilitation service in Surrey. Another £3.5 million has been used for helping injured servicemen who may have lost limbs to adapt their lives and £500,000 to improve the first medical facilities injured service personnel encounter when they return to the UK, the Selly Oak NHS Hospital in Birmingham.
Since it started the public have responded well to the charity and big campaigns have helped to fuel support including the X Factor contestants’ version of Mariah Carey’s Hero as well as the support of high profile figures such as Princes William and Harry.
To find out more about the charity see the website www.helpforheroes.org.uk.
You can also send a cheque to Help for Heroes, Unit 6, Aspire Business Centre, Ordinance Room, Tidworth, SP9 7DQ, or call 0845 673 1760 or 01980 846 459.
