A warm welcome is extended to everyone as we invite you to join in the fun and celebrate Armed Forces Day, a 1940’s theme day to raise funds for the Salford Veterans Community Centre C.I.C opening. The event will be held on Saturday 26th June 2021 at St Thomas Church (Pendleton Church), Ford Street, Salford and everyone are welcome!

The fun begins at 10.00 am until 4.00 pm, and there will be something for every member of the family. The Armed Forces Day event hosts are volunteers of the newly formed Salford Veterans Community Centre C.I.C, a community venture based on Eccles precinct. The community centre is a joint venture with Greater Manchester Police and the Armed Forces Community and will proudly serve both the community and Armed Forces Veterans alike.

Salford Armed Forces Fundraiser; A memorable day with fun for all the family.

We aim to make the day memorable, all the volunteers are wearing authentic military uniforms kindly donated by Broughton House, and everyone will be in the mood to have fun! There will be a live re-enactment by David and Carol Albison; here, they share their reasons for why they are proud to entertain everyone on the day.

David and Carol live in Oldham and have been attending 1940’s events for about the last seven years. We are part of a group called up Up North WWII Re-enactment Group, and we get together with like-minded people at events all over the North of England (and a bit beyond sometimes); we like to bring history to life. So, it is important to remember the sacrifices made for our freedoms, but we do it by having fun; we don’t take life or re-enacting too seriously. Therefore, when we heard about the Salford Veterans Club Armed Forces Day event, we thought it sounds like a good cause and a fantastic event to support!

The Sharks Forces will be at the Armed Forces Day event.

Sharks Forces is the Sharks Community Trust’s Armed Forces project. They work annually with over 100 veterans and serving personnel and their families; to help promote positive mental well-being and community cohesion.

The Sharks Forces have now launched a brand-new weekly timetable. This timetable includes coffee mornings, welfare walks, art therapy workshops, physical activity sessions and online webinars.

The programme aims to empower participants who have benefited from leading and supporting activities. Sharks Forces work closely with specialist charities and community organisations, ensuring we support all participants, no matter what their circumstances.

Sharks Forces is a growing programme. We have new and exciting activities planned for the future, with two regular social hubs based in Carrington and Waterloo.
Every Monday 10am-12pm – Sale FC (M31 4AE)
Every Wednesday 10 is-12pm – Firwood Waterloo Rugby Club (L23 8TW)

The donations from the community have been amazing.

Claire Marie Street, Armed Forces Ambassador for Verve, explained, ‘when we decided to hold the fundraiser, we tasked ourselves to get donations from our community for prizes for the tombola.

The generosity of local businesses and people from our community who have supported us is fantastic; the prizes we have on the tombola stalls are amazing! Our tombola will be under 18’s and over 18’s, and there are many excellent prizes worth winning.

Salford Veterans, Armed Forces Day, is a day to remember those who sacrificed their lives to ensure our freedom. However, it is also a day for having fun.

We have a BBQ that the Veterans Food Company will be cooking throughout the day to feed you; there are sweet and cake stalls to satisfy your sweet tooth, and there is something for everyone, including the children.

Face painting and pebble painting for the kids will keep them amused, as will the fabulous falconry display. In addition, there will be military and police vehicles from bygone era’s; and lastly, we have live music to keep us in the swing of things!

Paige has a personal reason for entertaining us.

Paige Steers will be entertaining us at the Armed Forces Day event with her unique style of music, and she explains why she will support the Armed Forces Day fundraiser.

Hello, my name is Paige, and I’m performing at the armed forces day at St. Thomas’s church. I’ve been performing on and off for quite a while now, everything from singing to Burlesque! (though there will be none of that this time around)I enjoy performing modern songs with a vintage twist, and you can’t beat a bit of the 1950 legends!

Everyone in the Salford veterans Community means a lot to me, as my dad is an armed forces Veteran. The group in Salford has supported him, reduced the social isolation, they understand and can relate to the steps he has walked.

Also, the volunteers were fantastic during the pandemic, ensuring everyone had a phone call and a check-in and providing meals to those who needed them.

So, to cut a long story short, I know how much the community can support people and wanted to help in any way I could!

See you on the 26th of June!

Thank you to the ladies who knit and their poppies.

The unique outfit we created for the window display at the Community Centre will have its debut too. The ladies who knit came together when I asked if anyone could kindly knit poppies for us.

The poppies were part of the window display outfit for the soon-to-be-open Salford Veterans Community Centre in Eccles. Subsequently, I am proud to say the dress will be there on the day, alongside the magnificent Military uniforms, which Broughton House Veterans Retirement Village has kindly donated.

We have created many campaigns, which include donations for toys at Xmas for local disadvantaged children. We have campaigned for baby clothes for Mums and babies struggling during lockdown to keep their babies warm; the ladies who knit never fail us.

The kindness of ladies who have knitted the poppies is lovely.

The kindness of local ladies, who generously came together when asked if they could knit poppies for us, was overwhelming. The outfit Claire has created is beautiful because of the gorgeous knitted poppies they made; thus, we are proud that it will be with us at the Armed Forces Day event.

So ladies, if you can, come along and join in the fun; tea and cakes are waiting for you and a chance for both myself and Claire to say thank you.

Curzon Ashton Community Foundation will be joining us.

My name is Isaac Keast, and I am the Military Veterans Development Officer for Curzon Ashton Community Foundation. The role I have is to engage within the Armed Forces Community, creating programmes and supporting veterans where I can.

My late Stepdad was a Sergeant Major for the Royal Signals; supporting the Armed Forces is something I’ve always wanted to do.

My goal is to make Curzon Ashton Football Club the Armed Forces Community Hub in Tameside. I have been at Curzon Ashton from 2012 – 2019, where I was a community coach where I helped start the Curzon Ashton Military Veterans Football Team in 2017.

In 2019 I left Curzon to join Oldham Athletic Community Trust, where I started the Oldham Athletic Military Veterans Football Team, before leaving a year later to take up my current role at Curzon Ashton Community Foundation.

The programmes we run for the Armed Forces Community are as followed:

Monday: NAAFI Break.

Tuesday: NAAFI Break.

Wednesday: Horticultural therapy.

Thursday: Oldham Athletic Military Veterans Football Team Training.

Friday: Curzon Ashton Military Veterans Football Team Training.

We have also put 16 veterans on a mental health first aid (adult) course. We also host the Remembrance Weekend Football Tournament. Both teams are part of the North West Military Veterans Football League, and both play regular 11 a side matches and tournaments.

I look forward to joining you to celebrate Armed Forces Day, join in the fun and help us to reach out to the community we support.

All the money raised on the day is spent on refurbishing the new Salford Armed Forces Community Centre…

We hope you can join us on the day, there will be stalls with local businesses and organisations, including Walking with the Wounded, and Verve will proudly be there on the day with Yvonne Simms from the Salford Food Parcels Charity. All money raised on the day is to be spent on refurbishing the Salford Armed Forces Community Centre, so please, come over and help us fulfil our dreams.

Both Yvonne and Claire are Ambassadors for Verve Recruitment and dedicated to recruiting foster carers for their Not For Profit sector.

I don’t charge for any adverts and blogs I write for these Not for Profit charities; it is my way of giving back as a community member to supports our Armed Forces Veterans.

After all, my Dad was a Kingo; my partner is ex-RCT, half of my family has served in all the Armed Forces, and I spent my early years as the child of a Soldier in a military base!

If you want to find out more about the Salford Veterans Community Centre or the Armed Forces Day event, or you would like to donate, please get in touch. Send your details on the form below, and we will contact you back. Hopefully, we will see you on Saturday; please, stay safe!