Carol Concert 2023 Read the Latest news 5th December 2023 The SWV Carol Concert took place on 5th December 2023 - and is was a sell out! This year's concert will be taking place on 4th December 2024, tickets will be on sale soon. The SWV Carol Concert took place on 5th December 2023, and this fantastic evening was a sell out! The line up was spectacular, with readings from Hugh Grant, Hayley Atwell and Rory Underwood - and musical delights from the talented Ellie Laugharne, "The Violin Girl" Leia Zhu and the choir - Sorono This year's Carol Concert will be taking place on 4th December 2024, tickets will be on sale soon - we look forward to seeing you there! Previous Next

Other Ways To Support Contact Leave a gift in your Will Once you have arranged for your loved ones to be looked after, please consider leaving a gift in your Will to support wounded Veterans in the future. ​ We want to be continue to support Veterans for as long as they need us. Your gift will enable them to have the reassurance that we will always to there for them. ​ Let your legacy help Veterans regain their future independence. Contact Fundraise for us We can help you to create the perfect fundraising event for your family, friends or work colleagues. ​ So why not host quizzes or auctions? Take part in bungee jumps, cycle rides or yoga classes? Or come up with some fun ideas of your own? ​ Why not contact us to discuss your idea today! ​ Events Attend an SWV event With a wonderful end to 2023, it is now time to look ahead for an exciting 2024. ​ This March sees the return of the Ski-habilitaion week and Winter Challenge. ​ The Rivers' Forum will be taking place from the end of April this year. ​ The Ocean Challenge will be back in June 2024, applications are now open. ​ Watch this space for more updates... ​

Mentoring Veteran Pathways Transitioning from military to civilian life can be a complex time for Veterans. Trained Mentors can provide help with professional and business matters, along with personal challenges too. They can assist in identifying goals, and tackling professional or personal barriers, leading to a more fulfilled life. Our Mentor programme was launched in 2014, and was originally offered to Veterans completing our Sports Habilitation Ski Week with nearly all of them taking up this offer. It has now expanded and is now offered to all Veterans across all of the SWV pathways. “My mentor has helped me to sew the weeks together.” It is a structured programme with each Veteran allocated a dedicated Mentor to support their return to meaningful civilian life and employment. The process may continue long after a Veteran gains employment, and the vast majority of mentoring relationships last beyond a year. Mentors are someone a Veteran can confide in and work through the many areas of their life with. The difference they make is often considerable. 82% of Veterans who attended the mentoring said it had been beneficial to them. "The support of my mentor makes all the difference. She has been absolutely life changing. Her guidance is empowering, I have lost 5 stone, am swimming and feel that my mental health is improving all of the time. It has saved my life, I couldn't even walk to the kitchen without sitting down. You lot are the best! I have learnt to take ownership of my life and my health" Veteran 2022 ​ Mentor Training After selection, Mentors go through a comprehensive training process - they then attend four training sessions each year, meet with their Veteran quarterly and speaks with their allocated Veteran weekly. The cost of mentoring each Veteran is £800 per annum which represents the cost of the Mentors’ training days, travel costs, administration and materials. Learn more about how you can become a Mentor A mentor's perspective ​ Alice Bromage is a business owner from London and one of SWV's mentors. "After 20 years in the British Army I recognised that there is an amazing pool of talent amongst the military that often goes untapped. I wanted to ensure that I could offer something back into the system, and as I was starting my coaching and mentoring business and this provided the perfect opportunity. "I have a close friend who was paralysed in the military and has been involved in the charity for several years. I new that SWV was a charity with a set of strong moral values and would get things done. "Mentoring has been an absolute pleasure and honour from day one. Seeing the transformation of my mentee from being unable to leave his home to running his own profitable business has been unbelievably rewarding. Providing morale support, helping him become comfortable as a business owner and learn how to bring and develop his own expertise and passion into his business has brought great rewards to us both."

Veterans Foundation supports SWV research into PTSD Read the Latest news ​ We are delighted to announce that the Veteran’s Foundation have generously awarded SWV a much appreciated grant to support research into the societal effects of PTSD. We are delighted to announce that the Veteran’s Foundation have generously awarded SWV a much appreciated grant to support research into the societal effects of PTSD. PTSD affects not only the sufferer but their family, friends and colleagues. The effect for society is wide reaching and expensive both in terms of the human cost and the cost to society as whole. In a first for the UK, Supporting Wounded Veterans have commissioned a study to investigate this. We hope that initial results will become available later in the year. The Veterans Foundation has been set up to help fund charities and other charitable organisations that are helping serving and former members of the Armed Forces, and their dependants, who are in need.” As a fellow Veteran’s Charity, the Veteran’s Foundation also strive to improve the lives of injured Veterans across the UK and, as always, we are very grateful for their support. Previous Next

VETERAN PATHWAYS RESEARCH NEWS AND EVENTS SUPPORT US ABOUT SWV Team 1 Items Our Partners More CONTACT FOR MORE INFORMATION: OCEAN CHALLENGE We have a permanent office at the Garden House, Royal Hospital Chelsea. +44 (0) 7909 090291 The Garden House ​Royal Hospital Chelsea Royal Hospital Road, London. SW3 4SR info@supportingwoundedveterans.com Submit Thanks for submitting!

Nick's Story Read their story Nick Davis, Grenadier Guards, served for 11 years, attended the 2014 SWV Skihabilitation week and SWV Pain Management Programme 2. Nick was injured in 2007 on an operational tour in Afghanistan, when out on a foot patrol clearing an enemy compound. The enemy had booby-trapped the area with a daisy chained I.E.D. The device exploded killing the point man instantly and causing multiple injuries to the rest of the section, Nick was hit badly by the explosion with extensive tissue loss and damage resulting in a right leg above knee amputation, in addition he also had extremely damaged hamstrings on the right stump and lost the majority of his gluteas-maximus muscle (right hip and buttock virtually gone). After 18 months rehab at Headley Court, he then returned to full-time service in 2009 before being medically discharged on 13th December 2011. Nick secured employment as a Candidate Manager at “Soldier On!”, and in 2014 attended the SWV Skihabilitation week, after this, he went on to work as a driver with “Capstar Chauffeurs” but the ongoing effects of his injuries were catching up with him, and he started living with chronic pain. Employment became impossible and from walking with a prosthetic leg he was spending more and more time in a wheelchair, unable to manage the simplest of tasks. Things got bad. He spent a year laid up in bed in pain unable to do very much and relying on his wife for everything. He spent the better part of a year in a dark place believing that his pain levels couldn’t improve, he became very negative about doing anything as he believed any actions would make the pain get worse. Nick turned to the NHS for treatment, it soon became clear that this was going to a lengthy process. That’s when Supporting Wounded Veterans told him about the SWV Pain Management Pathway (PMP) which they had just started running at King Edward VII Hospital, initially he had huge reservations about attending the PMP but as was pointed out to him, what had he got to lose. He completed the 2nd SWV PMP which consists of 5 days residential and 5 follow up days spread over the following year, towards the end of 2017. Nick advised SWV that he was so pleased to have attended, there are a few factors that have helped him get back to “normal”, not least, the support of his family through some very challenging times, the continued support from Supporting Wounded Veterans and the key is the support and education provided by the PMP. During the first week of the PMP he decided things had to change when, during a lesson on pain killers, it became apparent to him, that the medication he had been taking for 8 years was not working, when the Psychologists advised that “they lose their effectiveness after 1 year to 18 months”. It was at that point he thought “Why the hell am I taking these when they are not working? “ He came off his medication and the realisation that the addiction associated with the opioids he was taking were causing the pain spikes at certain times of the day, on ceasing to take the medication the pain spikes ceased also! Although he still has constant pain, he is much more able to cope with it on a day to day basis, which has, in turn, led to him feeling much more positive about life and ready to go back into some form of meaningful occupation. As of May 2018, Nick successfully applied for a part-time role (he also learnt at the SWV PMP to realistically manage the hours he works) as a driver with a local firm that specialises in working with schools and young people with learning difficulties. He is also a part-time coach for his son's Football Team, has started to play golf again and most importantly is back to being a proactive busy family man enjoying time with his wife and children. “If you want to change, there are great people at SWV and the PMP to help you do it. But you have to want it for yourself. A massive thank you to all at Supporting Wounded Veterans and the PMP Team for all the help and support, it has helped me in ways I couldn’t have thought. Thank you” Previous Next

Del's Story Read their story A former Staff Sergeant with the Royal Signals, Del, 37, suffered a severe brain injury in Afghanistan in 2009 when the vehicle he was driving hit an IED during a battle with a Taliban stronghold. “I was in an open-top reconnaissance truck which had a reinforced base designed to withstand blasts. But when we hit the IED, I was blown upwards and my head hit an overhead metal bar,” he explains. The impact knocked him unconscious. He was rescued along with the Commander sitting beside him (who was thrown out of the truck and also suffered multiple injuries). Del woke up in hospital at Camp Bastion and soon afterwards was flown back to the Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre in Birmingham, where he learnt he had lost all hearing in his right ear and suffered major bruising to his brain. His memory recall, coordination and ability to process information were badly affected. “It was as if I was living in a permanent fog,” he says. “I became painfully slow at the simplest of tasks and unable to do more than one thing at a time.” At Headley Court, the specialist rehabilitation centre for wounded soldiers, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. “It was a vicious circle – I became tired and sleepy a lot of the time, and that made me frustrated and angry.” Del, who lives in Carlisle with his partner Lisa, a Teaching Assistant, and Step-Daughter Hannah, 18, was medically discharged in November 2012. He had served 19 years, having enlisted as a 16-year-old school leaver. “I’d always thought I would see out my career in the Army, but after my injury, I lost all my confidence and I couldn’t see what I was going to do with my life,” he says. Four months later, he was offered a place on the first Supporting Wounded Veterans ski trip. “One of the first things you realise when you are put together with a bunch of wounded Veterans is that there is always someone worse off that you. We bounced off of each other, shared problems and I made instant friendships.” Del had skied before, but still had to overcome anxiety attacks. By the end of the week, however, he says: “It was as if a line had been drawn in the sand. I stopped thinking about the negatives and realised I could look forward to the future.” On his return home, Del was paired with a Mentor to help him focus on re-employment. Shortly afterwards, he spotted a vacancy for an Assistant in a local fishing and shooting shop. He applied, and, as a keen fisherman, got the job. He has since returned to Klosters with Supporting Wounded Veterans as a helper. “I feel like my life has moved on a million miles and it has been great to pass on my experience to the other Veterans.” Previous Next

B Brown Advisory B Brown Advisory Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Sapien et ligula ullamcorper malesuada proin libero nunc. Bibendum arcu vitae elementum curabLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Sapien et ligula ullamcorper malesuada proin libero nunc. Bibendum arcu vitae elementum curabitur. Augue ut lectus arcu bibendum at. Velit ut tortor pretium viverra suspendisse potenti nullam ac tortor.itur. Augue ut lectus arcu bibendum at. Velit ut tortor pretium viverra suspendisse potenti nullam ac tortor. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Sapien et ligula ullamcorper malesuada proin libero nunc. Bibendum arcu vitae elementum curabitur. Augue ut lectus arcu bibendum at. Velit ut tortor pretium viverra suspendisse potenti nullam ac tortor.Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Sapien et ligula ullamcorper malesuada proin libero nunc. Bibendum arcu vitae elementum curabitur. Augue ut lectus arcu bibendum at. Velit ut tortor pretium viverra suspendisse potenti nullam ac tortor.

The SWV Winter Conference and Talks are given to raise funds for our sport rehabilitation weeks for physically and psychologically wounded veterans - helping them move forward through rehabilitation to employment. ​ Before watching the video, please do donate and help us continue to run these life-changing programmes. Thank you. ​ Donate Continue to view the talks

2023 Winter Conference Talks General Sir Nick Carter in conversation with Manveen Rana Global Political Risk Panel General Sir Nick Carter, James Charrington and Benjamin Meuli discuss Global Political Risk and who our friends and foes are now in a changing world. The discussion is moderated by Manveen Rana. Global Political Risk Panel 00:00 / 1:04:34 Energy Panel Michael Liebreich, Dr Chris Walters and Michael Brennan discuss the move to net zero, energy resilience and if green energy is really green. The discussion is moderated by Peter Flynn. Energy Panel 00:00 / 1:38:50

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SWV PIONEER SERIES Wednesday 3rd March - Sunday 7th March REGISTER INTEREST Building leadership and alliances conference How can you cope with change and excel within your business? LAUNCHING THE SWV PIONEER SERIES WINTER CONFERENCE THIS YEAR SWV HAS ADDED SOMETHING NEW to the weekend. Not only will there be the Ski Challenge which you all know and love, there will also be a one-day conference ‘THE SWV PIONEER SERIES – LEADERSHIP AND BUILDING ALLIANCES CONFERENCE’. Supporting Wounded Veterans are launching their Pioneer Series with a conference taking place in Klosters on Thursday 4th March. The conference will be an opportunity to discuss the “The Great Reset”. Leadership How can you be the best leader in such uncertain times? Mental Resilience How can you cope with change and excel within your business? Team Building How can your team excel in an ever disconnected world? Building Alliances What can you do create a successful network? Global Threats to leadership What are the risks facing your company? Meet the Speakers More to be announced in due course Also Speaking SWv's network of mental health experts. swv veterans other eminent speakers, information to follow General Sir nick Carter Speaking on: Global threats on leadership Lord hamilton of Epsom Speaking on: Building Relationships and Leadship Liam Modlin Speaking on: Building mental resilience in leadership GET IN TOUCH Send us an email Give us a call Follow us on social media DOCUMENTS Brouchure 2021 Ski Challenge Terms and Conditions Fundraising Toolkit