Stoll hoping to get funding for online video archive
The bravery and dedication of 30 armed service veterans will be remembered forever thanks to a new initiative.
Stoll, an organisation based in Fulham that helps vulnerable and disabled ex-Servicemen and women to live as independently as possible, is applying for an Armed Forces Community Covenant Grant for an innovative project that will help the 30 veterans to share their stories by creating a permanent, freely available online video archive.
The Armed Forces Community Covenant Grant is a national scheme that has been set up to local projects that strengthen the ties or the mutual understanding between members of the armed forces community and the wider community in which they live.
If the application is successful, Stoll, in partnership with Legasee Educational Trust will, first of all identify 30 veterans who have stories and experiences to share and can represent the armed forces from World War II to more recent conflicts.
The veterans will then be filmed and interviewed with pupils from the Chelsea Academy doing some of the questioning. This will give the pupils the opportunity to research the history behind the veteran’s stories and the issues facing veterans today.
Individual interviews to be placed online to stimulate debate. This will also help to raise awareness of the issues the veterans have dealt with and currently face.
There will also be an open day at Stoll, for the local community, featuring talks by the school children and veterans who took part in the project and showing edited versions of the films and the school.
Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council has formally endorsed the grant application.
Dr Simon Chapman, Chairman of Stoll, commented: "Stoll has a long and happy association with the borough of Hammersmith & Fulham and our veterans are active members of the Fulham community. We therefore particularly appreciate the support shown for our veterans by this endorsement from the council for our Armed Forces Community Covenant application."
The Mayor of Hammersmith & Fulham, Cllr Frances Stainton recently chose Walking with the Wounded as her mayoral charity. Walking with the Wounded funds the re-training and re-education of wounded servicemen and women to help them find long-term employment after they have left the Armed Forces.
Cllr Stainton said: “This council fully supports Stoll’s application which, if successful, will ensure that the bravery, endeavour and hard work of armed forces veterans is recognised, remembered and valued for future generations. I am particularly happy to have signed the Armed Forces Community Covenant on behalf of the council. ”
September 18, 2013
|