- 335 people visiting the Island this year with Holidays for Heroes charity
- Charity scaling back after offering 360 holidays last year as it’s keen to keep personal touch
- Find out more about the charity, and how you can support them, below
A JERSEY charity that provides holidays for injured members of the armed forces is preparing to welcome a variety of guests and their families this year.
Holidays for Heroes Jersey has built on the total number of trips it offered former serving personnel year on year after being founded by Islanders Dawn and Richard Woodhouse in 2008.
You can look out for the Holidays for Heroes Jersey Group, who wear black t-shirts with the charity’s logo, on the following dates in 2015:
- May 3 10
- June 13 20
- July 22 29
- August 8 15
- August 22 29
- September 5 12
However, after offering 360 holidays last year, the organisation has scaled back slightly to maintain a personal touch and what Mr Woodhouse calls ‘the warmth of a Jersey welcome’.
The group’s programme of events is already under way, with bookings for 335 people confirmed for this year.
So far the charity has welcomed 40 guests and their families over the Easter week, with another 40 due to stay in the Island this week in the run-up to Liberation Day.
The charity is also looking for a new base for its second-hand shop.
Previously it was based in temporary accommodation at the northern end of the Five Mile Road, and Mr Woodhouse said that fundraising had been more difficult without the shop, which the charity left last summer.
‘Last year we provided 360 holidays, and I think we began to lose the personal touch,’ Mr Woodhouse added. ‘We’ve now closed the book at 335 bookings, but we are considering extending numbers for the September trip.
‘If we had the money we could invite 1,000 people, but we would never meet them all, and that’s not the way we want to run it.
‘People appreciate the warmth of a Jersey welcome.’
Donations can be made:
- By contacting Richard or Dawn Woodhouse on 856658
- By clicking here
- or by post to: Treasurer, Holidays for Heroes Jersey, Rock Bay, Grande Route de la Côte, St Clement, JE2 6FS.
Hundreds of injured servicemen and women and their families will come to the Island in the coming months, including several Gurkhas, which will coincide with fundraising efforts from the Gurkha Welfare Trust in June.
In July 20 injured marines from Hasler Company, which specialises in helping recovering servicemen and women, will visit the Island.
July will also see Holidays for Heroes Jersey work with a new charity called Rock 2 Recover, set up by a former marine, which uses music to help recovering personnel.
Holidays are also planned for two groups during August and another during the week of the Jersey International Air Display in September.
Mr Woodhouse added: ‘We’ve had 12 applications in the last three to four days.
‘And as always, we are still looking for shop premises. We have looked at one or two places, but it is about what is suitable and affordable for us.’
- Holidays for Heroes Jersey or H4HJ provides holidays in the Island for injured service personnel and their families.
- The inspiration for the charity came to Dawn Woodhouse as she listened to a Remembrance Day Service sermon at St Clements Parish Church.
- Along with her husband, Richard, the pair first thought they would provide a break for one or two members of the armed forces who had been injured, putting them up at their home.
- But as word spread of their plan donations began to arrive, with people suggesting their guests could be put up in a hotel.
- The charity was formally launched on 28 August 2008 by the then Lieutenant-Governor Lieutenant-General Sir Andrew Ridgway.
- Islanders and local businesses responded generously, with tourist attractions offering free admission to their premises. Others volunteered to help with transport and other duties during the week-long holidays provided by the charity.
- Each year, local bikers take to the Islands roads to raise money for Holidays for Heroes
- The annual Ride-out was held for the fourth time last May and raised about £4,500
- To date, the fundraiser has raised more than £15,000 for the charity
- Last year the ride culminated in a live gig by local musicians at the Watersplash
- This year’s Big Ride-out will take place on Sunday 24 May from 11 am until 5 pm, with riders heading from St Catherine to the Watersplash
