In Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, a team of volunteers from Wylde Green Rotary Club organised a packing event for local charity Troop Aid.
Items such as second-hand clothes and hygiene products were packed for the Shirley-based charity that was set up to support injured or ill servicemen and women in hospital.
Troop Aid was started in November 2006 by three ex servicemen as a result of a visit to Selly Oak Hospital’s Alexandra Wing in Birmingham.
Wylde Green Rotarians and Inner Wheel members pictured with team Troop Aid and ‘Brave’ the Troop Aid Bear.
Wylde Green Rotary have now supported the charity with packing events for 14 years alongside other local Rotary clubs such as Meriden, Solihull St Alphege and Edgbaston Convention Rotary.
The special ‘grab bags’ that Troop Aid send to the injured troops in hospital usually include socks, deodorant, underwear, get well card, shower mules, a t-shirt, shorts, a towel, face flannel, a washing & shaving kit, toothpaste and a toothbrush.
Speaking to The Solihull Observer, Wylde Green Rotary Club Secretary Carolyn McLaughlin commented: “The grab bag gives injured service personnel dignity during a state of emergency and an emotional crisis. It’s a small way of saying ‘thank you’ to the people who put their lives on the line so we can stay safe.”
Pam Sutton, who runs the charity with her husband Al, said: “Our funds come entirely from fundraising events and donations from organisations such as Rotary International.
“They make such a huge difference in a couple of ways – both coming into our warehouse – and previously our home – to pack the bags and getting involved in fundraising and making donations which helps us to provide these essential bags to injured military personnel around the world.”
