A BLACK Country comedy night in Studley raised more than £1,000 for the limbless veterans charity Blesma.
Blesma was born out of the First World War in response to the thousands of maimed soldiers who returned from the conflict.
Today it supports around 5,000 veterans and their families, helping to combat isolation and funding an outreach programme called Making Generation R – Resilience through Inspiration.
“It’s all about building resilience in young people,” said Vanessa Lucas from Blesma.
“The veterans go into schools to help students understand that life changing things have happened to them but it doesn’t mean the end of their lives.”
She added: “We are not government funded and are constantly fundraising and we still have members serving in the Armed Forces.
“We are an association of members and offer an enhanced activity programme with grants to the veterans.”
Sue Redman, the outgoing chair of Studley Parish Council said she chose the charity after being inspired by the fundraising efforts of Dave Abbott, landlord at The Little Lark in Studley.
“I saw what Dave was doing and thought it would be a really good charity to run alongside the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One,” she said.
“To raise more than £1,000 for the charity in one evening was tremendous and I was really touched, both by the story of Blesma and the generosity of those who attended.”
For more on Blesma, visit https://blesma.org/ .
