2020 Roundup News
Posted on 30th December 2020 at 14:42
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What a year... Goodbye 2020!
Phoenix Heroes now approaches its 4th year and like many, 2020 has been a very challenging one, COVID-19 stopped all of our planned activities for 2020 overnight and at first as we tried to comprehend what was happening on a global scale it seemed like there was no come back for us. As a non-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) we have always relied on the support of you, the public and businesses to keep our support services going.
We had to act swiftly and rethink our strategy if we wanted to continue supporting our veterans and their families on the same scale...
with all of our community engagement and fundraising activity taken away from us we had to reorg and plan accordingly. Our CEO, Gary Stockton started to write bid proposals to try and secure funding to give us a platform to continue delivering our services. Within a short time frame we had received grants from Sports England and the Essex Community Foundation of which we are still extremely thankful for, it is because of this support we were able to continue with our services.
It gives me great pleasure to be able to reflect on our accomplishments and achievements throughout what has been a difficult and testing year for many, within this article we have tried to cover everything, our setbacks, our milestones, our achievements and an overview on how your support has helped our veterans and their families. With so many people and organisations to thank we hope that we have not missed anything, as you read through I am sure you will agree that we have made some fantastic progress despite the challenges that we have been faced with.
On behalf of everyone at Phoenix Heroes I would like to say a big thank you to all those who have shown their support to us and also to our veterans and their families for trusting and believing in us across all support services.
Thank You!
CEO Gary Stockton
Our Setbacks Community Engagement
The main setback throughout 2020 has got to be the restrictions placed on community engagements, we would normally meet veterans and their families in person, meet new supporters and businesses. It also prevented us from doing our homeless campaigns where we would sleep out on the streets in search for homeless veterans. Our community engagement projects are also a great opportunity to raise much needed funds, raise awareness to PTSD and grow across our social media platforms.
Our Approach
Having received the grants from two supporting organisations we knew that we still had to adapt to the ever changing environment that many good causes are accustom to. We decided to focus our presence online, grow our supporter base and reach out to businesses for their support, our social media platforms became extremely busy and over a period of a few weeks we started to see results.
Coupled with the above we decided to launch our veterans Carp Angling Club to try and build a veteran community, unexpectedly our memberships started to increase at a fast pace on a daily basis. Within this community we witnessed the start of a "Peer 2 Peer" support platform where our veterans naturally reached out to other members offering their support, now we knew we had something very special here and throughout the rest of 2020 it became a very busy part of Phoenix Heroes activity and it still continues to grow as we approach 2021.
Our Milestones Achievements
When we look back we are astonished with the amount of milestones and achievements that we have reached during a global pandemic. None of these could have been achieved without your support, we are truly humbled and thankful for everything that you have done. If you have organised a fundraiser, purchased from our shop, made a donation or raised our profile on social media, you have all played a part in saving someones life and given our veterans and their families a little hope.
Milestones & Achievements
With everything against you it is sometimes difficult to set milestones, but we believe that it is very important to do so, only then can you gauge and measure your performance. Just a few of our milestones and achievements are shown below, if you would like to make a donation to show your support then please click on the donate link: -
Veterans Helped
194 across all serv
New Donors
482
Funding Increase
74.3%
Storage Secured
Locally
Company Vehicle
Sponsor support
Voluntary Hours
20,000+ to date
Carp Angling
Our achievements made within our Carp Angling Club have been astonishing, your support here has been amazing! If you are a veteran or a serving member of the Armed Forces and would like to become a member, then please sign up below: -
Fishing Days
94
Fishing Comps
8
Fishing Beneficiary
85
Team Growth
15
Aligned Fisheries
11
New Ambassador
Rob Hughes
Fundraising
Some of the remarkable efforts below, made by a selection of our most recent fundraising activities of which have made a huge difference! We thank everyone for their fundraising efforts this year and we are thankful for all the kind donations and support that we have received. If you would like to become a fundraiser then please sign up below: -
Skydive
Donna Thurston
Cycle Challenge
Chas McNeil
3 Day Challenge
Caveman Training
Raffles
CHG
Angling Donations
15 Veterans
Activity Overview
Even with a vast amount of restrictions placed on us we still managed to get our veterans into employment and on training courses, helped a number of homeless veterans secure accommodation, supported our veteran families, delivered outdoor activities, placed our crisis funds where best needed and supported a number of veterans and family members access therapy support.
We have also created a veteran community through our carp angling club that stretches across many counties and we foresee our memberships doubling throughout 2021. Our team structure has grown considerably, seeing two new Directors, a new Ambassador, four team captains and a number of regional coordinators bringing our volunteer structure to 40 members.
Veterans Christmas
PTSD Support
Crisis Funds
Christmas Hampers
Homeless
Employment
Online Shop
Another great achievement for us was the launch of our online shop which was a great way to grow our brand image and raise funds
Summary
In summary it has been a year of change in direction for us and we have embraced it. We have been overwhelmed with the level of support received from our new and loyal supporters. We will continue to develop, learn, grow and improve our services to our veterans and their families throughout 2021. We have some fantastic projects lined up and with your support we will be able to deliver them to our veteran beneficiaries across the UK.
From everyone at Phoenix Heroes we thank you for your support and wish you all a safe and good start to the
New Year - 2021 Bring it on!
Remember...
"Together We Are Stronger" and help is out there for those that may need a little extra support!
If you are a business looking for a good cause to support and would like to know more about Phoenix Heroes and the work that we do, then please get in touch
Memberships & Awards 2020
ERS Silver Award
Winner 2020
Fundraising Regulator
Registered
Disability Confident
Employer
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