Member Article

Forfusion supports Veterans in Crisis Sunderland charity football match 2019

The adverse weather didn’t dampen competitor’s spirits at the Veterans in Crisis Sunderland (VICS) charity football match at The Stadium of Light on Tuesday 28th May.

The day saw two teams, made up of veterans and serving soldiers, compete as part of a £15,000 appeal to fund a new VICS minibus, which will help transport veterans to job interviews, training courses and medical appointments.

CTO Ian Musgrave and Project Office Manager Stephen Long represented Forfusion in the match, playing for the Veterans in Crisis team against a side from military insurance specialists Genesis Protection Services, who organised the event. Ian and Stephen are both veterans and with ex-military personnel making up around a third of Forfusion employees, causes such as this are particularly close to company hearts.

Despite their valiant efforts, they ended up on the losing side.

VICS, established by Ger Fowler after his experiences upon leaving the forces, supports those transitioning from service to civilian life and has made huge strides over the past 12 months. From next month, the organisation will operate from a new four storey building in Sunderland to broaden their service offering to ex-service men and women.

John Stephenson, Director of Operations at Genesis Protection Services, said: “We haven’t counted the final total yet, but we think the match will raise in excess of £5,000, which is absolutely fantastic and will go a long way towards funding the new minibus. The support we’ve received from local businesses such as Forfusion has been unbelievable, not only from a financial perspective, but an awareness one too.

“Veterans in Crisis Sunderland was born out of a need offer real, relatable support to ex service men and women. A lot of the older guys involved with the organisation missed out on this help, but we hope the success of days like today means that this won’t be the case in the next 10 or 20 years.

“Despite the success, we’re determined to make next year’s event even bigger and better!”

Future fundraising plans for VICS include Genesis Managing Director Sara Arthur climbing Kilimanjaro in June. You can find out more about her story here.

Forfusion is delighted to support worthwhile causes such as Veterans in Crisis Sunderland and we offer service leavers the opportunity to gain relevant industry experience through a Civilian Work Attachment Scheme (CWA). Discover more about the scheme here.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Niall Cafferkey .