Welsh Valley Veterans ‘Win Big’ with Finning.
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Welsh charity Valley Veterans has seen its site expand rapidly thanks to the capabilities of its prize Cat® 301.5 excavator, donated by Finning UK & Ireland.
The machine was gifted to Valley Veterans by Finning as one of two winners of its ‘Win Big’ competition that ran in celebration of Caterpillar’s centennial year.
Valley Veterans, a charity based in the Rhondda Valley, was founded more than 20 years ago as an informal support group for PTSD sufferers and is now a vibrant hub with more than 140 active participants.
Finning presented the excavator to help get groundwork underway at the charity’s site, where volunteers have worked together to build stables, a riding menage, a vegetable garden, a memorial garden and a large cabin which serves as an office and therapy space to support the vast needs of the community.
Both Valley Veterans and Finning UK & Ireland have been awarded a Gold Award by the Ministry of Defence Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) – the highest accolade within the scheme. The award recognises organisations that demonstrate exceptional support for the Armed Forces community, including those transitioning from service back into civilian life.
Tim Ballard, General Manager – Digital, Technology & Marketing at Finning UK & Ireland said: “Finning are dedicated to supporting veterans and recognise they are a tremendous asset in engineering careers, with many of our engineers gaining their expertise through military service. We are proud to be working closely with the armed forces to offer the opportunity for continued development for service personnel and veterans.
Nigel Locke, Secretary at Valley Veterans, said: “Finning delivered our Cat 301.5 back in June and since then our site has changed dramatically. Having the machine on-site has allowed us to complete planned work much more quickly than by hand and is responsible for our large new vegetable garden and raised beds where produce grown goes towards feeding the community and veterans that we support.
“The machine has increased the scope of what we are able to achieve on site. We are looking at adding beehives, building more stables and adding a pond to support the biodiversity of the site – all of which is vastly more achievable with the machine, taking weeks as opposed to months.”
The charity was founded in the back garden of former Welsh Guardsman Paul Bromwell and has since gone on to make a significant impact both locally and nationally. Last year, Valley Veterans was honoured with the King’s Award for Voluntary Service.
Paul Bromwell, Chief Executive at Valley Veterans, said: “The impact of the machine has been invaluable to the work we do, allowing us to continue to make a difference to veterans and their families, as the size, scope and possibilities of the site keep growing.
“As well as a practical impact, the machine has made a financial one. Not having to rent a machine and having the back-up of local support from the Finning Cardiff branch means we are able to use our funding to support more veterans to combat the challenges resulting from isolation and loneliness.”
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