AFC Fylde Community Foundation proudly supports local Veterans through various projects, with the help of BAE Systems, The Armed Forces Covenant Fund and The Veterans’ Foundation. All of our Veterans Projects are delivered by our Armed Forces Support Officer, Lee Geraghty, who served in the British Army for twenty two years before joining the Foundation in 2019, On this Remembrance Day, the Foundation would like to share Lee’s story to highlight the importance of the work which he does to help support other Veterans.
Lee served as an infantry soldier in the 1st Battalion Kings Regiment, which later merged to become 2nd Battalion the Duke of Lancasters Regiment, where he served many tours across the world including Northern Ireland, Kenya, Belize, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Canada before moving to Weeton Barracks in 2019 for his resettlement period. It was during this time that he began volunteering at the Foundation as a way to re-adjust to civilian life before retiring later that year and becoming a full-time member of staff at the Foundation. Lee now works on various projects aimed at helping other members of the Armed Forces and ex-service personnel, as well as their families.
Lee said “I know how hard and isolating it can be when getting out of the Army, so I was inspired by my own experiences to help other Veterans. There are lots of ways that we support local Veterans and their families, through our weekly activities. We run weekly football sessions, coffee mornings and wellbeing sessions alongside Dig In North West.
“Providing a structure can really help a Veteran in adjusting to civilian life, even if it is just attending one session per week where they can be active or sit and chat with another Veteran; it can all improve their mental and physical wellbeing.”
Alongside this, Lee meets a number of Veterans each week offering with one-to-one support, who may be feeling lonely, isolated, or need further assistance in adjusting to life outside of the Armed Forces. Lee has been able to assist several Veterans’ in finding employment or access courses to help them begin their new career path, signposting them to a number of the Foundation’s employability projects.
Lee, and the entire Foundation staff team, would like to extend our thanks to all Service Personnel and Veterans this Remembrance Day, with Lee wishing to add, “I’d say please don’t hesitate to reach out - we are here to help you as little or much as you’d like. Our door is always open and as a fellow Veteran, I really do understand and care.”
If you would like to find out more about our Armed Forces projects, or receive one-to-one support from Lee, please visit https://www.afcfyldefoundation.co.uk/armedforces, email Lee.Geraghty@afcfylde.co.uk or call 01772 598 856.
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