THE INVICTA FOUNDATION: HELPING THOSE AFFECTED BY SERVICE Colchester-based charity The Invicta Foundation was established in 2010 to help anyone adversely affected by active service within the armed forces.
T he Foundation was set up by Cheryl Hall and Stephen Robertson, parents of a severely injured serviceman, Ashley Hall when they struggled to find financial support for non- dependants once their son was discharged from hospital. Cheryl explained: “After Ashley got injured in Afghanistan, we spent the following ten weeks in Birmingham, sleeping in a hotel and spending our days by our son’s bedside. He’d lost both legs above the knee, his left thumb plus partial fingers on his left hand, his pelvis had been shattered and he sustained some damage to his back. The MOD had been a tremendous support when our son was in hospital, but once he was discharged there was a large gap in the care and support package available to us. As non-dependents, we were not covered by the MOD welfare programme or with any of the existing service charities. We had a choice: we could sit back and let it go, knowing that other families would continue to struggle, or we could start to do something about it. The Invicta Foundation was born.” The charity offers support, counselling and advice through its dedicated Forces & Families advice Bureau (FFaB), respite
November. For us, it is about awareness as well as funds. Anything anyone is willing to do is valuable to our cause.” For tickets to the Black Tie and Diamonds Christmas Ball on 25th November or for more information on how you can help the Foundation, please contact Cheryl or Stephen on 01206 617001 or email enquiries@ takes passion and dedication, but also brings with it a huge amount of responsibility. Ensuring that you have the right insurance covers in place can protect, not only your charity itself, but if you are a trustee can mitigate your personal liabilities. Some of the key areas you might need to consider are; trustee and management liability, professional Indemnity, loss of income, public liability, PR crisis management, legal expenses, buildings, contents and stock. Scrutton Bland work with a number of charities across the region to provide insurance, accounting and audit advice. To talk to one of our advisers please call 01473 267000 or 01206 838400 or go to our website www.scruttonbland.co.uk theinvictafoundation.org.uk Running or managing a charity
breaks via its own small holiday home in St Osyth, development workshops for veterans and service personnel, and donations and equipment to those in need. Based in Red Lion Walk in Colchester, the charity generates funds from local and national events, direct donors, its retail charity shop on Culver Street East and a lottery scheme. The Foundation has also been selected as one of the Colchester Mayor’s charities for 2016/17. However, the charity needs further support. Stephen added: “The long-term goal is to also have our own respite house where servicemen and women, and their support network, can go after they are discharged from hospital. We have the architectural plans but are looking for land to get it built. If we can get the respite house up and running, it will go a long way in helping to plug the gap in support that currently exists.” There are a number of ways local companies can lend support. Cheryl said: “We are looking for a bank of volunteers locally to support us with events, in the shop and at our head office on our campaigns. Local companies can also assist through donating staff time to our cause, through payroll giving or office fundraising days. We are also hosting a black tie ball and auction at Stoke-by-Nayland hotel in
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