Armed Forces Champion Welcomes all-Wales service

An online campaign to raise vital funds and awareness of veteran’s services has been launched.

Change Step, an all Wales service for military veterans, is launching an online campaign to raise awareness of the role families play in the transition into civilian life and the recovery from issues which some ex-service men and women struggle with upon leaving the Armed Forces.

Part of the charity CAIS, the Change Step project is a veteran to veteran, peer mentoring service. Services are available for both Welsh veterans and their families; service users contact them for help with a range of issues resulting from military service such as PTSD, homelessness, addictions, unemployment or abuse.

To raise awareness of the veteran’s services and to help raise vital funds for the sustainability of the project, on the 7th August, Change Step have launched an online campaign called #VeteransShoes.

Change Step aim to show this journey symbolically through a single photograph. Director of Change Step, Geraint Jones explains that: “There is a huge online community of serving and ex-service men and women who all use social media such as Facebook and Twitter to keep in contact, support each other and reminisce. We hope that these communities will engage with the campaign as an opportunity to find old comrades, celebrate our heroes and especially our unsung heroes, their families.”

Wrexham has had a long and proud history of supporting the Armed Forces and Armed Forces Champion, Councillor David Griffiths has welcomed news of the campaign. Speaking of Change Step he said: “Campaigns such as these are a testament to communities that care about our brave servicemen and women.”

To join in with the campaign, visit any of the dedicated Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, JustGiving, Youtube and Google+ pages. Individuals can take a photograph of themselves with local veterans, wearing his or her shoes. Information about who they are, which regiment they represented and which years they served should be included. Show the world how proud you are of them.

Residents can also donate to Change Step using the text code Shoe22. Every penny raised in the campaign will go directly to the veteran’s service to ensure that veterans and their families get the vital help that they need.