Future
Armed Forces Day returns to the UK
AG’s year round support for our armed forces
To mark Armed Forces Day (25 June 2022) Ambassadeurs Group is highlighting its support for two military organisations – the OppO Foundation and the Guards Museum in London.
With a core purpose that centres around giving back and supporting good causes, AG is committed to lending its backing to some of the most innovative organisations in the UK.
Military organisations, in particular, represent a blend of forward-thinking, whilst also celebrating a rich heritage. They are a good fit for AG’s philanthropic ambitions.
In July AG will host an event for the OppO Foundation, which supports ex-military and their families. Its aim is to replicate the support network that comes with a military life. Set up by Kayam Iqbal, a serviceman who was medically discharged from the RAF after his last tour of Afghanistan, the OppO Foundation has a very personal aim.
In the military the term oppo means a fellow solider, a friend, someone you work with, and someone you can totally rely on. For Kayam, who initially struggled to find meaningful work after leaving the military, he missed the oppo support network and felt he had no one to turn to. He retrained as a project manager, working with large corporates, before setting up OppO Recruitment to help ex-military job seekers find a new role in civilian life.
From that early idea to help military veterans into a new career – and life – as a civilian, Kayam set up the OppO Foundation charity arm. One of the driving forces was to support the many soldiers who are discharged from the military with physical and psychological disabilities. A common trait is that they are highly focused on overcoming their disability to shape a new life for themselves and their family. The OppO Foundation aims to provide support in shaping that new life through a series of projects, including Team OppO, which helps those who have left the military to achieve their sporting goals.
The Guards Museum is a very different type of charity. It tells the story of the five regiments of Foot Guards who have protected the Sovereign and the Royal Palaces from 1660 until the present day. It was originally set up as a teaching aid for new recruits to learn about the regimental heritage. It celebrates and commemorates some of the big war events of the last few centuries.
With a collection that stretches back to the English Civil War it is a historical archive that shows how uniforms and equipment have changed. But it is more than that. Like the OppO Foundation is also shines a light on the personal stories that have shaped – and been shaped – by military combat.
The Guards Museum relies on donations to keep it going and to care for and develop its collection.
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