Armed Forces

Lloyd's Patriotic Fund

Founded in 1803 to assist the many casualties of the Napoleonic wars, Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund is the oldest military charity of its kind and has been providing support to the armed forces community on behalf of the Lloyd’s market for over two hundred years. Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund is a registered charity independent of Lloyd’s.

Today, Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund supports serving and ex-service personnel and their families, with a particular focus on those who are disabled or facing poverty, illness and hardship. Since 2010, Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund has made grants of over £2.4 million to help Britain’s armed forces. Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund provides long-term support to a number of partner organisations but also makes additional grants for special projects to respond to the need arising, which is considered on an annual basis.

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Phone: 02073 271000

Location: One Lime Street, London, EC3M 7HA

Merchant Navy Association (MNA)

The Merchant Navy Association is a UK-based maritime charity and membership organisation. Our mission is to represent, support and promote the interests of all merchant seafarers – serving and retired – as well as their dependents. We are unique in embracing every rank and rating across the generations. Our Association us run by dedicated volunteers who have served across every type of vessel and in every rank, bringing a wealth of lived experience and a broad, inclusive outlook to everything we do. We offer:

• Support and welfare
• Recognition and awareness
• Comradeship and community
• Education, advice and information

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Phone: 02381 550105

Email: secretary@mna.org.uk

Location: 8 Cumberland Place, Southamptom, SO15 2BH

Military Coworking Network

We believe that military spouses and partners deserve to have fulfilling and successful careers alongside military life, and beyond. We’re here to help you navigate the challenges, unlock your potential, achieve your professional dreams, and create the perfect future for you. And this is how we do it:

• Our Coworking Hubs give affordable access to professional office spaces on military bases across the UK and in Cyprus. A place where you can work or study on your own terms, connect with like-minded people, make new friends, and never feel alone again. Join a coworking hub today and elevate your work and quality of life for just £30/year.
• Our Online Community hosts a treasure cove of resources and opportunities, all designed with you in mind. From career guidance to business support, to skill-building workshops and masterclasses, to networking events. Be inspired by your peers. Learn from each other. Grow and develop. Join for free today and own your success.

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Email: info@militarycoworking.uk

Military vs Cancer

Military vs Cancer focus on alleviating the effects of a cancer diagnosis for serving Military personnel and Veterans as well as their immediate families. We provide:

• Additional family – nursing care funding
• Travel costs for treatment, including hotel stays for family members
• Home adaptations
• Respite breaks
• Memory making trips
• Special experiences, especially for those with a terminal diagnosis
• Peer group – community support for serving forces members and their families

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Phone: 01302 495416

Email: info@militaryvscancer.com

Location: Armstrong House, First Avenue, Finningley, Doncaster, DN9 3GA

Military Wives Choirs Foundation

As a registered charity, the Military Wives Choirs is now made up of a network of 75 choirs and more than 2300 members based across the UK and in British military bases abroad, including Cyprus, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.

Choirs are tri-service and not just open to wives of serving personnel – anyone with a military connection can join, empowering women from across the military community. We bring women in the military community closer together through singing. Our members help one another through the bad times, celebrate the good times and all of us sing our way through it together.

We welcome women, from serving personnel’s partners, to veterans’ wives, from those who work in their local military community, to those who serve in the military. Wherever we are in the world, the choirs give each of us a chance to make a difference where we live.

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Phone: 02074 639407

Location: St Dunstan's Hill, London, EC3R 8AD

Models for Heroes

Models for Heroes (M4H) is the first charitable organisation in the UK to support the use of model making hobbies within former and current Armed Forces and Emergency Service Personnel in the United Kingdom.

Models for Heroes provide model making and figure painting as a positive activity to support wellbeing and positive mental health. We provide support for welfare and isolation. We have 65 sessions across the UK and online sessions daily. We can provide resources and community that would help with a miniature hobby.

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Phone: 07847 273458

Email: info@modelsforheroes.org.uk

Location: 1 Harrier Road, Newbury, Berkshire, R20 4AB