National Lottery provides £200,000 to support veterans in the North West

17 May 2022

SSAFA has received an award from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK, to support veterans in Manchester and Merseyside. 

The two-year grant, totalling £200,000, will support SSAFA’s ‘Covid-19 Veterans’ Recovery Pathway’ project which aims to provide a focused, person-centred, joined-up range of services to help those veterans most affected by the pandemic.

This funding has been awarded by The National Lottery Community Fund, which distributes money raised by National Lottery players, who raise £30 million each week for good causes across the UK.

The project will build on the existing support SSAFA provides in the North West region, including their casework service. SSAFA provides vital financial, practical, and emotional support through their team of over 100 volunteers supporting around 1,200 members of the Armed Forces community each year throughout Manchester and Merseyside.

Sir Andrew Gregory, CEO at SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity said: “We are incredibly grateful to The National Lottery Community Fund, made possible by National Lottery players, for this extremely generous donation. The two-year grant will help us reach some of the most vulnerable members of the veteran community in Manchester and Merseyside.

“The overall aim of this project is that no veteran or their family in the Manchester or Merseyside regions will be left behind due to the devastating consequences and ongoing aftermath of Covid-19, and beyond.”  

Gillian Halliwell, Head of Funding for the North West at The National Lottery Community Fund, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, veterans across Manchester and Merseyside will be able to access much needed support. Two years on from the COVID-19 pandemic and what has been a tough time for veterans across the UK, groups like SSAFA are stepping up to help the most vulnerable in the community to thrive.”