There are 12 categories of Soldiering On Awards up for grabs, so there’s definitely a good chance you know someone that you’d love to nominate.

If you haven’t already thought of anyone, how about casting your mind over to people or organisations that work together, collaborating to ensure a better service or a more fulfilling experience for the people they help.

The Working Together Award

What’s it for?

This award honours teams, organisations and people who work together with a shared goal and commitment to support the Armed Forces Community.

Who should I nominate?

If you know of any groups, charities, organisations or individuals that work together to benefit people within the Armed Forces Community, we’d love to hear about them.  We particularly encourage nominations for young people and youth groups in this category.

The Soldiering On Awards honour outstanding folk who have really made a difference – so please think hard, who do you know? The following examples might jog your memory…

Who’s won previously?

2019’s Working Together Award winner was Unforgotten Forces, a consortium of 15 diverse charities that looks after the 280,000 older Veterans living in Scotland. Together they tackle issues including healthcare, transport, social isolation and assisting people living in care settings.

Gary Gray, speaking on behalf of Unforgotten Forces, told us that “Receiving this award was excellent recognition… The awards evening was a special occasion and we felt very privileged to be amongst so many inspirational people.  We are hopeful that the award will allow us to build on the strong foundations that Unforgotten Forces has put in place to support so many deserving members of the Armed Forces community in Scotland.”

In 2017, the Forces Friends’ Project was honoured with this award – a partnership between Age UK Nottinghamshire and the Royal British Legion in the East Midlands. Together they provide a befriending service to support lonely and socially isolated veterans living in Nottinghamshire.

John Anderton, Service Manager for Age UK Nottingham & Nottinghamshire, said this week, “Winning the prestigious award provided us with an opportunity to generate local media coverage that raised the profile of the Forces Friends project on local TV, radio and newspaper. The impressive trophy still has pride of place in our awards cabinet.”

Other organisations that have won in this category include the Cobseo Housing Cluster, a group of 30 separate veterans’ housing organisations that grouped together to achieve shared objectives; and AF&V Launchpad, a charity that helps veterans suffering from homelessness and various social issues to overcome their significant challenges.

What now?

You can see all previous winners on our website by clicking on the Awards tab then selecting previous award from the drop-down menu and choosing a year.

It will be fantastic if you can help to spread the word by sharing this blog to make sure as many people as possible have the opportunity to nominate whoever they feel deserves an Award!  These tags may help if you’re sharing on social media: #SOA2020 #soldieringonawards