CLA Charitable Trust awards funding to support military charity
A charity that supports military personnel and veterans in obtaining skills and employment in the rural sector is among the latest organisations to receive funding from the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) Charitable Trust to support their work.
A charity that supports military personnel and veterans in obtaining skills and employment in the rural sector is among the latest organisations to receive funding from the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) Charitable Trust to support their work.
The CLA Charitable Trust (CLACT) is funded almost entirely by subscriptions from members of the CLA.
The trust provides grants to charities and community organisations across England and Wales who share its vision to help connect young people and those who are disabled or disadvantaged with the countryside and which are delivering access, recreational and educational opportunities within and about the countryside.
CLACT has generously funded the cost for one armed forces veteran to attend a Rural Week at Bicton College in 2021. HighGround is a charity whose mission is to improve the wellbeing and employment prospects of serving personnel and veterans using the green environment.
Rural Weeks have been developed by HighGround to give service leavers (those individuals still serving in HM armed forces but have started their resettlement process to make the transition back to civilian life) and veterans an overview of the land-based sector. What and where the employment and self-employment opportunities in each area of it are, how their military skills and experience map so perfectly into it and what tickets and qualifications they will need for each area.
Rural Weeks are delivered at Bicton College in Devon and consist of a combination of classroom presentations by subject matter experts and visits to farms, golf courses, smallholdings and much more.
Anna Baker Cresswell, Founder & Executive Director HighGround said:
The CLA Charitable Trust funded our original pilot Rural Weeks at Plumpton College back in 2014 and it’s so brilliant that the Trust has decided to continue to support our work. We have come a long way since those early pilot days and over 300 men and women from HM armed forces have joined us for a Rural Week to help them with Life beyond the military – outdoors.
Since its foundation in 1980, the CLA Charitable Trust has given more than £1.9m in grants to a wide variety of organisations and projects.
Bridget Biddell, Chairman of CLACT, said:
The trustees of CLACT saw the value of High Ground’s “Rural week” in educating serving personnel and veterans in the opportunities for employment in the rural land-based sector. The knowledge that can be gained in one week’s residential course, provides the key for unlocking the opportunities for new entrants into the rural sector. We were delighted to support this program of education, which can demonstrate success for ex-service men and women entering into careers in the rural sector.