ORGANISED by the military children’s charity Little Troopers, as part of its Christmas Smiles campaign, each box is filled with resources and activities to help children cope with parental separation, alongside festive stocking fillers to raise a smile.
Last year, 7,000 service personnel were deployed on military operations over Christmas, and a similar number are expected to be serving overseas this year. With 72% of service personnel having at least one child under 18, thousands of military children will be missing a parent on Christmas morning. From school plays and concerts to visits to Santa and family get-togethers, Christmas can be an especially difficult time to have a parent away from home.
Little Troopers is a national charity dedicated to supporting service children and ensuring they have somewhere to turn. The charity’s founder, Army veteran Louise Fetigan brought together soldiers from the Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment, students from Bovington Academy and members of the local community to pack the boxes, a task that took six hours in total.
Military personnel from across the country, including Hereford, Wiltshire, Market Drayton, Oxfordshire and Somerset, travelled to Dorset on the same day to collect the boxes so they can be distributed to families before Christmas leave.
Little Troopers Founder Louise with boxes.Louise Fetigan, founder of Little Troopers, said:
“Today has been a real team effort. Our community, both here in Dorset and across the UK Armed Forces, has pulled together to make something incredible happen that will make a real difference to military children across the country. These boxes are all about helping military children feel recognised and supported. Christmas is a tough time to have a parent away from home, and we want to bring Christmas Smiles to as many children as we can.”
SSgt Jake Dalby, a soldier based in Bovington, was deployed last Christmas, and his child received a box. He said:
“I didn’t get much communication while away, but having my daughter on FaceTime and seeing her open her box made it feel really special. This year I’m here volunteering to pack the boxes to return the favour.”
WO2 Stuart More, who serves in the Royal Navy and is also a trustee of the charity, reiterated the need for initiatives such as Christmas Smiles. He said:
“I was a military child myself. My wife is also serving, so we have both been separated at various times during our careers, especially around Christmas. It’s really challenging for our three children. Previously in the Navy, communications were difficult, FaceTime wasn’t always possible, but children today expect to see and speak to their parents. So it’s hard.”
The Little Troopers Christmas Smiles boxes have been made possible thanks to funding from Babcock, VIVO Defence Services, Mott MacDonald, MCFT and the Santa Barbara Trust.
Little Troopers has also organised a range of other activities as part of its Christmas Smiles campaign, including free cinema screenings at ODEON cinemas, a storytelling event with the Chelsea Pensioners, an elf workshop and an online dance session.
For more information, visit: www.littletroopers.net.
