Royal Navy veteran Ian Summerson has been appointed as an Employment and Training Specialist to support fellow veterans in gaining the necessary skills and training they need to secure employment.

Ian joins from his previous role as National Recruitment Co-ordinator for the Royal Navy – a position he held for almost 15 years and hopes to help fellow veterans living at Launchpad’s Avondale House and Hollyacre House in the North East of England.

The new role has been created and funded as part of the government’s Op FORTITUDE programme – a pathway to reduce veterans’ homelessness. In July this year, veterans’ charity Launchpad was selected as one of nine organisations by the government to deliver the programme. Launchpad will support 230 homeless veterans over the next two years.

The charity provides accommodation and targeted support, with the help of specialist partners, to UK Armed Forces veterans experiencing homelessness and unemployment and those who have struggled with the transition from the military into civilian life.

Ian will support up to 50 residents living in both houses who are seeking employment by engaging with training specialists, colleges and organisations to match their skills and support them into employment. Securing employment is one of Launchpad key priorities and staff at the house support the residents as part of their transition to move on to live independently. On average, over the last five years, 32% of residents gained employment whilst living at Launchpad. Now, with a dedicated Employment and Training Specialist in post, it is hoped this figure will increase.

Ian’s role will vary depending on the requirements of each resident but his responsibilities include helping them to create CVs, preparing them for interviews, delivering health & safety courses at the houses and attending job fairs with candidates.

Ian, from County Durham, has served in the Royal Navy since 1986, initially starting his career as a radar analyst for Maritime Security and working in various other roles including; training supervisor, sub-department training manager, training delivery instructor (combat management systems), careers advisor and then finally as a National Recruitment Co-ordinator. He hopes the experience he has learned will support residents to engage and find suitable employment.

Commenting on his role, he said:

“I’m really excited by this role and using my knowledge and experience to give something back to the veterans living at Launchpad who have not had the best experience of transitioning from the military to civilian life.

“I’ve only been in post for a couple of weeks, using my time to understand how the charity works, meeting the staff and residents and the huge array of organisations and partners we are already engaging with.

“Every resident is at a different stage of their journey – some are ready for employment while others need a little more time to understand where they are and what they want to achieve. My role is to engage with them and provide as much encouragement and support.

“A lot of the veterans have the transferrable skills most employers are looking for, it’s about making them realise their potential and communicate how the skills they learned whilst serving can be applied within civilian roles. Once I understand their career aspirations, I can work with them to fill their skills gap which in turn will stand them in good stead for securing employment.”

Phil Thompson, Manager of both Avondale House and Hollyacre House, said:

“I’m thrilled to have Ian on board. He has a tremendous wealth of knowledge and experience that will help our residents. It has been proven that if residents can gain additional skills and training, it will help them to go on and secure employment. This in turn gives them some stability and structure in their lives, it helps them to gain confidence and focus on move on which is ultimately Launchpad’s purpose.”

Launchpad has three houses in the North of England in Newcastle, Liverpool and Durham providing accommodation for 101 homeless veterans – accepting veterans from all over the UK.

To date, over 635 veterans have been supported since 2013 and 139 residents were supported between July 2022 and end of June 2023. On average, over the last five years, 60% of residents successfully moved on from Launchpad to live independently and 32% gained employment during their time with Launchpad.

Staff and veteran residents from all three houses have been busy this week finalising preparations for Remembrance Sunday.

Since July, Speke House residents and staff have been collecting, cutting and painting the bottoms of plastic bottles to make a poppy wall, which is now a prominent feature in the garden at the house.

The materials were kindly supplied by property services company Bell Group, who have been working with the house over the last few months and the end result is fantastic.

In addition, staff and residents spent an afternoon helping to put the finishing touches to the cenotaph and cleaning the Commonwealth gravestones at St. Aiden with All Saints Church in Speke.

Jan Buckley, Activities Co-ordinator at Launchpad’s Speke House, said:

“This week is really poignant for our veterans and we wanted to engage with the local community and in activities they will remember. They’ve really enjoyed spending time decorating the bottles and creating the poppy wall and getting outdoors to help clean around the church. This is a commitment we make every year in the lead up to Remembrance Sunday and our residents and staff are very proud of Speke and the local community.”

Meanwhile, staff from Avondale House in Newcastle engaged with Year 6 pupils from Byker Primary School and St Lawrence’s RC Primary School and invited them to decorate clay poppies.

The charity received funding of £400 from Byker Community Trust (BCT), part of Karbon Homes, through the BCT Community Partnership Fund to contribute towards the costs of the materials needed for the activity, such as the clay, paint and brushes.

Sam Hughes, Assistant Manager – Projects at Launchpad’s Avondale House visited Byker Primary School to talk to pupils about the importance of Remembrance Day and explain why we remember those who served and honour armed forces members who have died in the line of duty. The pupils were also invited to write messages about what Remembrance Day means to them and to use them to create a wreath.

Teachers, pupils, Launchpad staff and residents and corporate partners were all invited to attend a special Remembrance Day service held at St Lawrence’s Catholic Church yesterday morning (Friday, 10 November).

During the service, Father Jonathon Bowes invited all the children present to come to the front of the church and lay down their poppies.

Sam said:

“This is the third year we have engaged with Byker Primary School, and the first time we have engaged with St. Lawrence’s RC Primary School. Remembrance Day is such a significant day in our calendar of events and it is important for the children to learn about what Remembrance Day is, the significance of the poppy, why we fall silent at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month and what this means to armed forces personnel.

“The feedback we get (from the pupils, teachers and the school) is always positive and they learn so much from it. After the service, we invited all pupils back to Avondale House for a buffet and an opportunity for them to have a look around the house and meet some of the staff and residents.”

Launchpad provides accommodation and targeted support, with the help of specialist partners, to UK Armed Forces veterans experiencing homelessness and unemployment and those who have struggled with the transition from the military into civilian life.

The charity has three houses in the North of England in Newcastle, Liverpool and Durham providing accommodation for 101 homeless veterans – accepting veterans from all over the UK.

To date, over 635 veterans have been supported since 2013 and 139 residents were supported between July 2022 and end of June 2023. On average, over the last five years, 60% of residents successfully moved on from Launchpad to live independently and 32% gained employment during their time with Launchpad.

Over 130 guests attended a glittering black-tie celebratory dinner in Newcastle last week to celebrate Launchpad’s 10th anniversary.

The event, which was held last Friday at the Discovery Museum, was organised to celebrate the charity, which provides vital accommodation and support to veterans who have struggled with the transition from the military to civilian life.

Guests were entertained by The Sing United choir and an inspirational speech by Launchpad’s ambassador, James Rose. The evening concluded with a raffle and auction and over £6,000 was raised on the night.

Also in attendance was His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Tyne & Wear, Ms Lucy Winskill OBE, the leader of Newcastle City Council Cllr. Nick Kemp plus many other corporate guests, key partners and suppliers the charity works with. Launchpad staff and residents were also in attendance who spoke to guests and told them of the support they have received from Launchpad.

Founded in 2013, Launchpad provides accommodation and targeted support, with the help of specialist partners, to UK Armed Forces veterans experiencing homelessness and unemployment and those who have struggled with the transition from the military into civilian life.

The charity has three houses in the North of England in Newcastle, Liverpool and Durham providing accommodation for 101 homeless veterans – accepting veterans from all over the UK.

To date, over 635 veterans have been supported since 2013 and 139 residents were supported between July 2022 and end of June 2023. On average, over the last five years, 60% of residents successfully moved on from Launchpad to live independently and 32% gained employment during their time with Launchpad.

David Shaw, CEO of Launchpad, said:

“It was a wonderful evening and I’d like to thank our sponsors for enabling the event. The aim of the dinner was to bring our guests, staff and some of our residents from all three houses together to celebrate our anniversary. The venue, food and entertainment was all first class and my thanks go to them all, and organisers, for making it such a memorable occasion.”

Darush Dodds, Group Corporate Affairs Director for main event sponsor, Esh Construction, said:

“Launchpad’s 10th anniversary dinner provided an opportunity for service users, military colleagues, business and the third sector to come together to reflect, celebrate and raise money for a brilliant cause.

 

“Launchpad is much more than a charity; it provides safe, secure accommodation and other essential support to help veterans make a successful transition from military to civilian life. Men and women who have done so much for us and our country should never have to face huge challenges – such as homelessness, poverty, addiction and mental and physical health issues – alone.

 

“Esh has signed the Launchpad Pledge, and in line with our Gold Armed Forces ERS we will continue to support this, inspirational local charity.”

Chris Chennell, Regional Director for gold sponsor, Hydrock North East, said:

“We’re committed to being a force for good in the communities where we live and work.

 

“That’s why we are proud to be the Gold Sponsor of the Launchpad 10th Anniversary Dinner which has helped raise £6,000 for the massively important work the charity delivers to provide ongoing support to our veteran community in the North East and beyond.

 

“At Hydrock, we’ve a large community of exceptional employees who are ex-forces and have successfully navigated from military to civilian life and so Launchpad, in particular, has a special place in our heart.”

The sponsors for the event were Esh Construction, Hydrock, believe housing, Urban River and Up North Communications.

Launchpad’s inaugural golf day proved a resounding success raising over £3,500 for the charity.

The event, sponsored by technology firm Sastech Limited, was held on Friday 15 September at the picturesque Vale of Llangollen Golf Club with 14 teams competing for the coveted prize of becoming 2023 champions.

The corporate golf day was the first of three fundraising events organised as part of our 10th anniversary celebrations with the 800-mile Rock2Rock cycle ride from Rock in Cornwall to the rock of Gibraltar and a celebration black-tie dinner to be held later this month.

The weather was kind and the teams of four played for various prizes and competitions including a hole-in-one, nearest the pin, longest drive, beat the pro and a putting competition. A Santa Cruz mountain bike worth £8,600, donated by Oneplanet Adventures, was the prize for anyone lucky enough to get a hole-in-one on the 18th par-3.

The event was organised by Gary Perriton, Launchpad’s business development manager North West. Commenting after the event, he said:

“I’d like to thank everyone who joined us on the day and hope they all had a great game. The Vale of Llangollen Golf Club has been very accommodating and supportive of the event and we can’t thank them enough for the first class facilities they provided. I’d also like to say a special thank you to our sponsors Sastech Limited, Sea King Group, CDC Accounting and Oneplanet Adventures. Without their support, we couldn’t have made the event possible.

 

“I’m pleased to say we have raised just over £3,500 which is fantastic and all of the money raised will be reinvested into the charity to ensure it continues to provide accommodation and support to homeless veterans. I’m hoping this will become the first of many corporate golf days we organise for Launchpad so watch this space!”

Gary Morris, Managing Director at Sastech Limited, said;

“Sastech Limited were delighted to be asked to sponsor such a fantastic event and day for Launchpad veterans. We embrace the ethos of ‘giving back’. I’ve had the privilege to visit their houses and see first-hand the tremendous hard work and dedication by the volunteers but also the investment needed to cover it financially.

 

“Trust me, the funding is nothing compared to the dedication and commitment these extraordinary people demonstrate daily to deliver what is required to fulfil the various projects.”

Tommy Wallace, part of the winning four-ball team on behalf of BITA, said:

“We had a fantastic day at the inaugural charity golf day for Launchpad. I was lucky enough to be in the winning team and not only won a four-ball at Hill Valley but also a private tour of the Tower of London. Lovely day at Llangollen golf course and very well organised by Gary and the team at Launchpad.”

A group of cyclists have successfully completed their epic 800+ mile Rock2Rock cycling challenge at the southernmost point on the rock of Gibraltar.

The group of friends and work colleagues including serving military, veterans and civilians completed the Rock2Rock challenge in 12 days taking them from Rock in Cornwall, cycling an average of 70 miles per day.

On Friday afternoon, seven cyclists and their support team arrived at Europa Point in Gibraltar having achieved their aim of raising awareness of homeless veterans and funds for veterans’ charity Launchpad.

They have exceeded their original £5,000 fundraising target through a combination of online and offline donations. The online total has just reached £6,000 with donations still being made.

Rock2Rock was organised by Launchpad’s business development manager and Royal Navy Reservist Gary Perriton. Commenting after crossing the finish line, he said:

“The guys have been amazing and we are very grateful for everyone’s support. It’s certainly been a challenge, starting off in monsoon conditions in Cornwall to cycling in 36 degree heat, big climbs and long days in the saddle through mainland Spain. We managed a few niggling injuries throughout but we’ve done what we set out to achieve which is to raise awareness of Launchpad and the great work they do to support homeless veterans.

I calculated we cycled 853 miles in total with a climb of 34,750ft which is over the height of Everest and 10x the height of Mount Snowdon.

“Thank you to everyone who has supported us along the way including our sponsors who enabled this challenge to happen and to those who have made a donation to our fundraising page.”

Founded in 2013, Launchpad provides vital accommodation and targeted support to Armed Forces veterans experiencing homelessness and those who have struggled with transitioning from the military into civilian life.

The charity has three houses in the North of England in Newcastle, Liverpool and Durham providing accommodation for 101 homeless veterans – accepting veterans from all over the UK.

To date, over 635 veterans have been supported since 2013 and 139 residents were supported between July 2022 and end of June 2023. On average, over the last five years, 60% of residents successfully moved on from Launchpad to live independently and 32% gained employment during their time with Launchpad.

The Rock2Rock challenge has been supported by a number of organisations and corporate sponsors including Linguassist, Oliver King Foundation, LovIT, Immervox, Me2you Cars, Deskfrnd, Ellanstone, BeUrBest and Cubbie.

The cycle ride formed part of a series of events the charity organised for its tenth-anniversary celebrations with a corporate golf day at the Vale of Llangollen Golf Club on Friday 15 September and a celebration black-tie dinner will be held at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne on 27 October.

You can still support the cyclists and the work of Launchpad via a fundraising page set up at Just Giving: www.justgiving.com/campaign/rock2rockcycle

Staff and residents from Launchpad’s Avondale House in Byker have stepped in to help a North East woman move furniture after finding out her original removal van was unable to help.

Gillian Haddon from Fenham in Newcastle bought second-hand furniture including two wall units, corner unit wardrobe and a three piece suite, from a seller in Blyth, Northumberland and was desperate to find someone to help her move it to her house.

When Gillian’s friend Ann Rees, who works as a specialist veterans case worker at Launchpad’s Avondale House found out, she asked her manager and some of the residents help her out who were all willing to help.

Gillian visited Avondale House the week before armed with an abundance of cream cakes to meet the residents and to say thank you for the support.

Ann was joined by four veteran residents and assistant manager Andy to collect the furniture in Launchpad’s minibus and help deliver it safely to her home in Fenham.

Gillian, who has multiple disabilities, was over the moon that Launchpad stepped in to help. She said: “I’m so grateful for such kindness and can’t begin to express how much this has helped me. Everyone worked so hard and were wonderful – I could never pay back what you have all done for me. Thank you for organising everything, I would have struggled with doing this alone and you have all taken the stress out of moving the furniture and made me a very happy person.”

Ann added: “I’ve known Gillian for 21 years and we started working together back in 2003. When she told me about her predicament, I asked Andy if this was something we could support her with and ask some of the guys here at the house to help move the heavy furniture. The response from the residents overwhelmed me with their willingness to help and all said yes without hesitation. I am very proud of each and every person who donated their time to help support a wonderful person in her hour of need.

“It was a team effort and I’m just glad we were able to help. It was nice for the guys to get out into the community and volunteer to do a good deed, so well done to those who helped.”

Gillian invited them all to enjoy a lovely buffet afterwards to show her appreciation for all the hard work.