At the end of June, groups of intrepid adventurers will take on a tough charity challenge to trek more than 50 miles across the countryside while raising funds for serving soldiers and veterans. Jennifer Cosgrove finds out more about the Cateran Yomp.
The Soldiers’ Charity is therefore hoping the yomp will make people in Scotland more aware of the work it does and also create other opportunities to raise cash.
“Traditionally, a lot of people would come up from the south to take part in the yomp, but because our major sponsor is the Alliance Trust we are hoping to get a lot of teams from the local area,” Robin added.
“We are trying to make people understand we do an awful lot up in Scotland and quite rightly so as these people have given service to the crown the second world war onwards.
“These veterans have a wide range of needs. It’s perhaps not well known that since the end of the war, there are still over 500 surviving amputees who need support. We also provide support for people who served in places like the Falklands, Northern Ireland and Korea.
“Quite often, people who leave the Army don’t need support for some time, but things manifest themselves in some way and through a sequence of events, people find themselves in need of assistance.
“The expression we use is ‘a hand up, not a handout’ and what we don’t do is hand out money directly to someone who rings up asking for help. Instead, it goes through a social worker who we use from Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) and the legion, and they will go and buy the fridge or washing machine, or whatever is required for them.
“Money is not given away lightly, and it goes to worthy recipients. What is clear is the people who donate to the charity want to know the money is well spent. Over 90p in every pound donated will go to the cause.”The Cateran Yomp takes place on June 25-26. For more information visit www.soldierscharity.org/yompFor over 60 years, The Soldiers’ Charity (formerly The Army Benevolent Fund) has been offering support to the men and women across the UK who put their lives on the line to defend their country.
The fund offers lifetime support to serving soldiers or veterans in need of personal help or assistance for their families, whether it be during conflict or in peacetime.
Now, the charity is hoping to raise its profile in Scotland where a lot of money is spent by encouraging people to take part in an epic adventure known as the Cateran Yomp.
It takes place on the Cateran Trail, a circular walking route that starts and ends in Blairgowrie, taking in Kirkmichael, Spittal of Glenshee, Kirkton of Glenisla and Alyth on the way.
The yomp is a 54-mile round trek for teams of three to six walkers and the challenge is to complete the trail within 24 hours. Walkers can opt for the bronze, silver or gold routes depending on ability and each stage has a marker point to let participants know what distance they have achieved. There is also a mini yomp for children to the first checkpoint at Kirkmichael.
The weekend is full of activities for participants, from a pasta party on the Friday evening to mid-walk fireworks, air rifle and clay pigeon shooting at check points, professional massages, and a full cooked breakfast on the finish line.
Walkers will receive support throughout the trek, with hot food and drinks, cakes, fruit and other refreshments at various locations along the trail.
The event is sponsored by the Scottish-based investment company Alliance Trust and two thirds of the yomp’s proceeds will go to the Soldier’s Charity, with the remaining third going to a charity chosen by the sponsor.
Robin Bacon, chief of staff at The Soldiers’ Charity, is getting ready to take part in the yomp, and says he hopes people from the local area will step up to the challenge.
“The origin of the word ‘yomp’ is accredited to the Royal Marines in the Falklands, as they had to travel across the body of the Falklands to fight, and they went for about 40 miles with all their belongings. It was called a ‘yomp’, which was a long-distance slog.
“But we don’t want people to be put off and, while we wouldn’t want something like the Cateran Yomp to be a ‘slog’, it indicates it is a long distance and it’s a military force march.”
Robin continued, “We give out grants to soldiers and their families when they are in need and these help them to purchase things like stair lifts, mobility aids and respite holidays all things people need, but will not necessarily be funded by the state.
“We spend a significant amount in Scotland understandably, because there are a lot of former soldiers living there but our presence here is not that strong. We benefit from a donation from the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, but we haven’t done any fund-raising events in Scotland in the lifetime of the charity.”
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