MILITARY charities Walking With The Wounded (WWTW) and Help for Heroes have joined forces to support hundreds more veterans and their families who will be struggling this Christmas.
Picture: Jose Luis Granell
Earlier this year, Prince Harry announced that more collaboration was needed within the military sector to provide better support for the Armed Forces and veteran communities and the charities – which have been working together since 2012 – are honouring the Prince’s vision with Walking Home For Christmas, a fundraising campaign to pay for vital support for veterans at risk, including those who are unemployed or struggling with their mental health.
Participants can register for the walk online for free and, upon registration, will receive a Santa hat in the post. Between 13-23 December, registered friends and colleagues will don the hats and walk the walk of their choice to raise awareness and money for those who served.
The campaign is now in its fifth year and has so far raised more than £1m. The longest walk to date was by a grandmother in Suffolk walking 400 miles to visit a family member in Northern Ireland in honour of her serving grandson. Other walks have included people carrying their Christmas tree home, collecting a turkey from a farm on foot and getting old regimental colleagues back together for a walk.
To find out more about the walk, which is sponsored by Matalan, visit walkinghomeforchristmas.com