Soldier On receives more than £12,000 in grants (From York Press)

Soldier On receives more than £12,000 in grants

7:47am Wednesday 24th October 2012 in News By Richard Catton, richard.catton@thepress.co.uk

A BUSINESS set up in York to help former servicemen get back into work has received the latest in more than £12,000 in grants.

Soldier On, started by Sue White, the former wife of an ex-serviceman, is run as a co-operative by its ex-soldier members and offers a range of services including training in security and mobile catering.

Sue, 43, said: “We have been given a massive boost, as the backing of the council and local MP Julian Sturdy has seen a small grant from the community covenant cover some of the plans we have for veterans in York to benefit from.

“We have lots of things going on, but the biggie is some of the £30 million military covenant. We have been given £12,500 and are one of the few groups in Yorkshire to be given a grant.”

“We have also received grants from Co-operatives UK, The Keyfund, Taylors of Harrogate and through fundraising events. This co-operative is about taking those grants and growing a business that supports our members.”

Sue appeared in The Press in 2007 when she wrote a book about life with her husband, a first Gulf War veteran.

She said: “Rather than wanting to raise money as a charity we are keen to create an awareness and grow a respect for veterans down our streets – not only giving us chance to count how many veterans live in our neighbourhood but to start to battle the isolation many service personnel feel once they have left the forces.

“Building a sustainable business for the future – we are focused on growth rather than profit as we are keen to ensure our co-op can continue to provide opportunities for our ever growing membership we offer training, mentoring and real help to return to work or create enterprise to sustain our structure for the future.”