Eastnor Lodge have partnered with Ledbury Rugby Club and ‘Talk Community’ to provide a regular Breakfast Club for ex-services personnel (forces or blue light).  

This will be launched at Ledbury Rugby Club on Wednesday 7^th May between 09:00 and 10:30, with the intention that it becomes a regular fortnightly event.

Talk Community provides online services to find helpful information and advice, discover hundreds of local groups and activities, and find out what events are happening across the county. https://www.talkcommunity.co.uk

Aimee Williams from Talk Community commented:

“I’ve been supporting Ledbury Rugby Club and Eastnor Lodge, who have worked in partnership to develop a new offer for ex-services veterans in the area and I’m very pleased to say that we are soft launching a new Services Breakfast on 7^th May.

The breakfast will be held every other week, and is open to all ex-services personnel, including blue light services. In time, as attendance increases and we understand a bit more about the attendees needs, we’ll be looking to incorporate information sessions, talks and visits from people and services of interest too.

For now, and as we get going, we’d love for you to join us at the first session so we can connect with other people and services supporting veterans and ex-service personnel and share any thoughts and ideas you might have about how we can develop the offer.

Please also do invite along any ex-services people you’re working with and/or supporting; they’ll be really welcome (and fed! Important!).“

Paul Finlay the Charity Steward of Eastnor Lodge commented:

“We are excited to bring together this partnership for the benefit of ex-services personnel around Ledbury and look forward to seeing what opportunities develop over time.  This further cements our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant signed by Herefordshire Province in July 2022.”

Herefordshire Freemasons recently made a donation to Herefordshire Veterans Support Centre (HVSC) which was match funded by the Masonic Charitable Foundation.

Herefordshire has a large community of former military service personnel. Estimates show that as much as 25% of the county’s population has connections with the military. Being exposed to events and challenges that can make them more vulnerable to loneliness, social isolation is a common issue affecting the Armed Forces community.

The HVSC was set up to provide a one stop shop of support and a friendly listening ear for anyone in the Armed Forces community in Herefordshire that may be experiencing issues or requiring support in other areas of life or work.

Samantha Lewis the Chair of the Trustees wrote.

“As you may be aware, it has been an exciting 12 months for the HVSC. Our new premises was officially opened by His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh in October. Since then, we have seen an increase in individuals accessing the support that we offer, increasing from approximately 44 a month to over 200. This means that funding like that provided by the Masonic Charitable Foundation and the Herefordshire Freemasons is now more important than ever, ensuring that we can provide whatever support is needed to our Armed Forces Community.“ “As well as working closely with community partners and signposting to other support networks across the county, we are also offering more groups and activities, such as a new weekly brunch for spouses of serving personnel, funded trips to veterans and range of other initiatives.” “Many thanks once again for your continued support.”