Volunteers Week

From the 1^st June to the 7^th June it’s National Volunteers week!

Our volunteers are an important part of the fabric of Blesma’s support offerings. Sacrificing their own time to support our Members, we want to use National Volunteers week to thank every single one of them for their tireless work.

Whether they are helping out at Bucket collections, offering transport to and from Blesma activities, or simply acting as a friendly voice on the end of the phone for an isolated Member, they are absolutely vital to our day to day running.

Though it would be difficult for us to thank every Volunteer individually, and impossible for us to convey they appreciation we have for each and every one of them, here are a few stories of Blesma Volunteers from around the country who continue to go the extra mile for injured Veterans…

East

Gam Gurung lost his arm to a Plastic explosive while serving with the Gurkhas. Now, he Volunteers for Sutton Merton and District Branch, and fundraises for his fellow injured Veterans.

Helen Cullen does an amazing job, aiding and assisting her local BSO Kev Long in supporting the Members.  She is very active and keeps an eye on the Members that she has been allocated. She is currently a full-time PhD student at the Northern Hub for Veteran and Military Families Research at Northumbria University, researching the Royal Hospital Chelsea, and is also Honorary Secretary at the Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft Branch.

Scotland

Lorraine Anderson, a Blesma widow who lost her husband George in December 2019, has found a new support network and discovered new hobbies and skills by taking part in the local online activities arranged during Covid. Now, she even hosts her own, very popular, Zoom Quiz, which has attendees from all over the world.

NI

Iain McAfee is a dedicated volunteer and fundraiser for Blesma, having dedicated his 50^th birthday to taking part in a challenge to raise funds for Blesma. His efforts made over £1,000 for the organisation, and he has since started supporting the Outreach Officer for NI with Local events.

WaW

Nigel Rogoff (Welfare Volunteer): Former RAF Flight Sergeant Nigel Rogoff, 56, from Hereford, who lost his leg above the knee in an RAF parachute display team accident. A Member of Blesma, he supports his fellow injured Veterans in Wales and West by working as a Welfare Volunteer.

Liana Finlayson, a Senior Physiotherapist, is a Welfare volunteer in Wales and the West. This year, she will accompany our all-injured Veteran RAAM Team to take part in the Race Across America!

Midlands

In the Midlands, Blesma Member Steve Beasley supports our services by helping to repair mobility equipment, following a Blesma Grant which allowed him to learn how to repair this sort of equipment safely and to standard. Steve also supports the Activities Team with mobility aids for Members Weekend, and nothing is ever too much trouble!

Jayne Waring, who joined Blesma as a volunteer in 2017, was invaluable to our BSO and Outreach Officer in the midlands during the pandemic. Jayne also took up the role of Welfare Officer for the Nottingham Branch before taking on additional duties as the Welfare Rep for the whole of Nottinghamshire. Collecting shopping for Members, making monthly calls and all-round general support to the membership and so much more.

Her and husband Richard’s fundraising efforts have equalled more than £30,000 for the Association, which led to her acknowledgement in receiving the Blesma Awards.

Of course Blesma has a great many more hardworking volunteers who cannot be named here. We'd like to say a massive thank you, to each and every one of them!