FAMILY
The RAF Benevolent Fund – Helping Serving RAF Families
by Kam Kaur, Senior Marketing Executive at RAF Benevolent Fund
Family life in the RAF is a life like no other. That’s why the RAF Benevolent Fund continues to roll out new offerings to make life easier for serving families.
A break by the sea
Separation, frequent moves and long tours can take their toll on family life. Many RAF families face unique pressures and getting away from it all can make all the difference in being able to carry on and cope.
To support serving RAF personnel, the RAF Benevolent Fund has two cottages on the south coast in Rustington, giving families, friends and couples a chance to relax and recuperate.
In December, in direct response to overwhelming demand, we will open two more seaside apartments so that more families can have a break together.
Shirley Steeples, General Manager, explains why it was so important to build two new apartments: “We have so many applications from families who would benefit from a seaside break, including those with ill or disabled children, partners with serious illnesses or RAF personnel recovering from injury.
“It really can be heartbreaking turning people away. With two new apartments we’ll be better placed to meet the
40 Envoy Winter 2015
extraordinary and growing demand we’ve seen over the past few years.”
The two-bedroom, self-catering apartments will have all the comforts of home such as cots and high chairs for infants, gaming systems for older kids and fully fitted kitchens. They will also feature wet rooms and be wheelchair accessible for those with disabilities or recovering from injury.
There is a small charge for using these facilities, but we can waive that if necessary. To find out more or to book a break visit
www.rafbf.org/cottages
Relationship support We offer serving members of the RAF experiencing relationship difficulties six free counselling sessions with Relate. Later on this year we are launching a new free online course with Relate called Building Stronger Families, which allows families and couples to work through every day issues in the privacy of their own home and build up capacity and resilience before times get tough.
Extending our support for parents and RAF children We’ve worked with RAF Community Support staff for years to enhance
our offerings for parents and children, building Airplay play parks, refurbishing child care centres, and providing Airplay youth support workers on or near RAF stations.
Now, we are putting the finishing touches on new offerings, including:
• Ben Parenting. Low cost courses for RAF parents on tackling everyday challenging behaviour amongst children.
• Ben Play. Low cost activity-based courses for parents and children on how to get the most out of play.
• Ben Clubs. Building on the popularity of Airplay, Ben Clubs would provide new youth support services for 5-8 year olds.
Watch for these new offerings in early 2016!
To find out more about the above initiatives visit
www.rafbf.org.
If you are serving in the RAF, or are a Veteran and in need of support please visit
www.rafbf.org/help for further information.
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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