This holiday season, we joined forces to celebrate and uplift organisations from the Veterans’ Places, Pathways and People (VPPP) programme in the South-East of England – our ‘Partnership in Mind’ Portfolio (VPPPSE). Here’s how it went.
It was a proud day for us at the recent ‘Veterans’ Voices’ event!
Along with live performances and sing-alongs, Veterans’ Voices showcased meaningful projects run by all partner organisations in the Veterans Places, Pathways, and People programme in the South-East Region (VPPPSE). To date, this programme has seen close to 5000 veterans supported, with 60+ being assisted into employment with almost three times this number in the pipeline. This is well worth celebrating!
The event represented far more than mince pies and jingle bells, as it celebrated the culmination of the VPPP programme and saluted all those involved in it, from the providers of service and support to those benefiting from it.
The singers impressed us all, new connections were made among members of our veteran communities, and the event helped spread the word about the wide range of support services available to veterans throughout the South East of England.
As one of our service users commented:
“Absolutely enjoyable afternoon and the choir were brilliant. I got some ideas from some of the other groups. For my own problems. Which i will try to use. Thank you all.”
Groups in attendance included representatives from VPPPSE partner organisations and more:
Please enjoy the excellent photos from VOS’ own Welfare Manager, Mark Perryman. You can see a full gallery of Veterans’ Voices photos from Mark by visiting his website.
“The Veterans Voices concert represented far more than mince pies and jingle bells, bringing together dedicated supporters of veterans from across our South East region, along with many of the veterans and families they support, singing in the choirs. It was a real joy to be joined by so many people, who were both entertained and got to join in on the fun as our talented Musical Director, Adrian Bawtree, led the massed choirs in the wonderful venue of St Mary’s Church.” – Ian Millen, CEO VOS.
Our sincere thanks goes out to our wonderful delivery partners in the VPPP South East region, to the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust for making this programme happen, and to everyone who came out to support us on the day. What a way to kick off the festive season!
Some final words from those who attended:
“What a truly memorable afternoon it has been at the Veterans Voices event in St.Mary’s Church. Inspirational opening and closing addresses from Ian, excellent organisation and presentation videos from Keith and musical direction from Adrian. Rousing singing from the three choirs, two of whom travelled a long way to be present at this great event. Thank you to everyone who made this possible.”
“It was a great time. We did ourselves proud, and that harmony was just the best”
“Well done everyone involved, and also to our fantastic audience for coming to support us, thank you.”
“Great afternoon, great tuneful choir.”
“A lovely event, super impressed with the Choirs! Great to see so many charities working alongside each other to support the veteran community.”
“It was a cracking and very enjoyable afternoon. The 12 days of Christmas was fun as we all tried to keep ‘in step’! Well Done everyone.”
“A real pleasure to be there and an admirable collection of festive jumpers and hats!”
“A great afternoon, raising awareness for veterans with the bonus of listening to the choirs with audience participation.”
If you’re a veteran from the UK Armed Forces or the Merchant Navy (from any time of service) or a partner to one, VOS would love for you to join our community. We are here to offer our support: call us on 02392 731 767, visit an upcoming drop-in, or email admin@vosuk.org.
VOS is immensely grateful for the support and funding we receive from the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust and the Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity.
