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.

A group of intrepid cyclists will embark on a gruelling 800-mile Rock2Rock challenge from Rock in Cornwall to the rock of Gibraltar to raise awareness and funds for veterans’ charity Launchpad.

The group of eight will take part in the 12-day challenge, setting off on Sunday 17 September from Rock in Cornwall and cycling an average of 70 miles per day, before arriving at the rock of Gibraltar on Friday 29 September.

The group of friends and work colleagues include serving military, veterans and civilians and will be trying to raise as much money for the charity, which provides vital accommodation and targeted support to Armed Forces veterans experiencing homelessness.

The cycle ride is part of a series of events the charity has 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 on Friday 27 October at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The cycle event has been planned and organised by Launchpad’s business development manager, Gary Perriton who is no stranger to cycling challenges. In 2021, Gary who lives in Llangollen, Wales, cycled 650 solo-miles in 11 days from Chepstow in Wales along the entire Welsh coastline to Chester, to raise awareness and funds for Launchpad.

Royal Navy Reservist Gary, has served for 36 years in the Royal Navy across a number of military departments both in the support and operational environments. He served on the front line both at sea and on land and has been commended for his commitment throughout a varied and successful military career including appointments within NATO and FCO.

Commenting on this latest challenge, Gary said:

“This year, Launchpad is celebrating its tenth anniversary so I wanted to do something special to mark the occasion but more importantly, raise awareness of what the charity does to support homeless veterans and raise some vital funds along the way.

 

“After experiencing a wet and windy Wales in October 2021, I was keen for the next challenge to be in slightly warmer climates and having served in Gibraltar, I thought the Rock would be a good place to finish. So, Rock UK to rock of Gibraltar was born!

“Although cycling solo was quite enjoyable, I’m really looking forward to riding with the team this time. I know we’ll keep each other going when things get tough and I’m sure there’ll be plenty of laughs along the way.”

The cyclists will be joined by a support team who will provide first aid and refreshments.

The 12-day bike ride 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.

Launchpad was founded in 2013 to help veterans struggling with transitioning from the military into civilian life who needed help and assistance, particularly with accommodation. 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.

To support the team on their journey, you can donate via Just Giving at: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/rock2rockcycle

To coincide with the campaign, Launchpad has set up a virtual challenge for people to participate in. The challenge is available at Well Giving by clicking on the following link: https://link.wellgiving.co.uk/3L2slTA

As part of our 10th anniversary celebrations, we’re organising a corporate golf day on Friday 15th September at Vale of Llangollen Golf Club.

Our inaugural corporate golf day, sponsored by Sastech, will help us to raise money and awareness to support the vital work we provide to support veterans experiencing homelessness.

For your donation of £295, you will get:

• Four ball in the event
• Refreshments at the halfway house
• Prizes for the top three teams
• Coffee/Tea and Bacon roll on arrival
• Rolling lunch on completion
• Opportunity to meet other businesses
• A fantastic day out raising money for our brilliant charity

Throughout the day, we’ll be organising the following:

• Hole in one competition 18th hole
• Nearest the pin on ALL par 3s
• Putting competition
• Beat the Pro
• Plus… your chance to WIN a top of the range E-bike (worth £10K) – kindly donated by Oneplanet Adventure

Launchpad exists to provide vital accommodation and support to homeless and unemployed people who have served in the UK’s Armed Forces to help them rebuild their lives.

We help veterans to address their challenges and make a successful transition to civilian life. We can accommodate up to 101 veterans across three houses in Newcastle, Liverpool and Durham. In just 10 years, we have supported over 635 homeless veterans and on average, 61% of veterans we support successfully move on to new accommodation and 41% find paid employment.

Thank you for supporting our veterans!

To enter, please click here.

A 6-week arts and crafts programme which supports health and wellbeing through local activities has commenced at Launchpad’s Hollyacre House in Durham.

Veteran residents living at the house were joined by members of the local community to learn about metal embossing.

The workshops are being delivered by Breathing Space, a counselling and mental health charity based in Witton Gilbert, County Durham and funded through the National Lottery.

Chris Jackson, Activities Co-ordinator at the house, contacted the charity to see if they would be available to engage with residents and deliver the workshops. He said: “We provide a range of activities and workshops for our residents to encourage them to engage and learn new skills. The arts and crafts sessions are always popular, as demonstrated more recently at Easter and the King’s Coronation, where the residents enjoyed making things.

“I was delighted when Breathing Space said they would be able to provide these sessions, which help the residents to keep active and stimulate their minds. Activities like this are always fun but they help with their mental health and wellbeing and encourage them to relax and enjoy some time together.

“The metal embossing workshop also enables us to welcome members of the local community into the house and to give them an opportunity to find out more about Launchpad and speak to some of the veterans who are living here, which they found interesting.”

Gillie Boggon, Project Co-ordinator from Breathing Space Durham, said: “We were awarded funding for our arts and crafts programme through the Happiness Hub grants, via the Pioneering Care Partnership. We wanted to make sure that we were working with and benefiting all sections of the local community. This partnership is exactly what we hoped to achieve in Sacriston. We aim to encourage members of the community to thrive through a wide range of programmes which help to support their physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.”

Launchpad provides vital accommodation and support for up to 101 veterans across three houses in Newcastle, Liverpool and Durham and helps residents to transition from military to civilian life. Hollyacre House in Sacriston, County Durham comprises up to 16 self-contained flats with communal facilities such as a lounge, kitchen, IT suite and gym. Residents are supported for up to two years (longer if necessary).