The ABF The Soldiers Charity was founded in 1944 when the hostilities were seen to be coming to an end and over 4 Million soldiers would be returning to civilian life in an industrial base ravaged by war over many years. The government of the day asked the Nation to help raise funds to assist service personnel who needed financial support, both then and for the future.
Today the ABF The Soldiers Charity helps about 4600 individuals each year spending over £9 million to deserving cases, in a sense of a hand up rather than a hand out. By 2015 the demand on the charity is expected to increase to £15 million as calls for our help grows  year on year by some 30%.
The ABF Soldiers Charity also underwrites  81 other military associated charities and acts as a safe net for their dependencies. All the ABF case work both here and in the UK is carried out by our colleagues in SSAFA who receive all the funding needed to service the ever-increasing demand.
A few years ago the ABF started Help for Heroes off with a £59K nest egg at the outset of their campaign, the Royal Hospital Chelsea, and Norton House at Headly Court, are just a few organisations that receive financial support each year.
The ABF Mission is to support serving soldiers and ex serving soldiers and their families not for the time being but for the rest of  their lives, no other charity promises to do this. It is an enormous financial challenge and a responsibility that the volunteer committees both in the UK and here in Cyprus have undertaken to bear.
 
It is fair to say that these days the Army has a well-established network of support and care but when a soldier hands in his kit, he and his family lose that support network they have come to rely on, that is when the ABF steps forward because we proudly promise that the Soldiers Charity will always be there, For Soldiers for Life.

It is sad that words like experienced, dependable and reliable have somehow become ‘boring, old-fashioned and surrounded by cobwebs’ and that ‘safety net’ and ‘whole spectrum of help’ are somehow unexciting.  We are proud of those characteristics and need to stress rather more that they are the very basis of what we are for the whole military community.  All this enables our constituency not to worry.

Some important facts about the role of the ABF The Soldiers' Charity in your life. The ABF is:
       
            The safety net for the whole Army in terms of Regimental Welfare and Benevolent Trusts, which means when they run out of cash they turn to the ABF for a top up.

            The strategic reserve for the Army Dependants’ Trust – a very important aspect for widows and their children. Not just at the time, but for the rest of their lives.

            Covering the whole spectrum of support – literally from the cradle to the grave. The youngest we help are babies and the oldest over 100.

            Providing support to all military personnel including Regulars, Reserves, TA and Cadets, and to retired soldiers and their children for the rest of their lives.

            The British Army’s own preferred charity.  Ask any soldier or military family past and present.

            Has been Supporting Our Soldiers for the past 65 years and will continue to do so for as long as we are can, but we need your support to keep the cash flowing.

 

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