Support Woody’s Lodge Battlefield Tours 2023 to help Veterans facing hardship. We’re looking for riders, event managers, & fundraising assistance

Would you like to help Welsh Veterans, Reservists, and Emergency Service leavers facing immense hardships, like poverty, loneliness, homelessness, and mental and physical health problems? No one deserves to live in turmoil, especially those who once served our beautiful Welsh nation, protecting us in times of conflict. This year, you can make an undeniable difference by supporting us in our biggest, most ambitious fundraising event yet, the Woody’s Lodge Battlefield Tours 2023, from July 11 to 15! It follows our hugely successful inaugural fundraising cycle, Cardiff to Paris, where we explored the English and French countryside and paid our respects to those who lost their lives in the Army, Navy and Airforce during the Great War and Second World War.

New fundraising goal to reach more communities

Thanks to our incredible supporters, donors, and sponsors, we raised over £85,000 in our first ever charity cycle. This year, we’re pushing the bar even higher to reach more Veterans in dire need of our help all across Wales, including communities we haven’t reached yet. Our goal is to raise £130,000, and your invaluable support can help get us there!

If we reach this goal, we can support more access to:

Financial help for Veterans

Jobs for Veterans

Housing help for Veterans (including help for homeless Veterans, help for Veterans facing eviction, and emergency housing for Veterans)

NHS health referrals

Benefit and pension applications

Social events

We save lives

Providing mental health support, including help for Veterans with PTSD, is also a significant part of our mission. Since our establishment in 2016, we’ve helped Veterans tackle loneliness and even saved lives:

Each year, we have around 15 000 Veteran visits on a social basis across Wales, ensuring our ex-servicemen & women always have an opportunity to meet people from similar backgrounds & build lasting friendships.

Through direct intervention, we’ve saved 27 lives! We can’t begin to explain how grateful we are to all our team members and donors who made this possible.

We need your help more than ever before as the cost of living rises

We never turn away any Veteran who comes to us for help. We do everything in our power and more to help them, regardless of how big or small the task is. This is why funding is so important. With the rising cost of living, we depend on the generosity of the general public more than ever before to ensure we can continue our work. Rising costs have also resulted in an upsurge in referrals from military Veterans of all ages, coupled with the unfortunate reality of donors tightening their belts and cutting funding. 

With more Veterans using our services, the reduced donations threaten our ability to deliver. Although we will never turn a Veteran away, we need your help to continue providing support for years to come. 

These inspirational stories showcase how Woody’s Lodge helps Veterans:

We need help fundraising for our Welsh Veterans. The most impactful way to assist right now is supporting our new fundraising cycle event

Battlefield Tours 2023 fundraising: The most impactful ways you can help us right now

If you want to make a real difference in the lives of our Welsh Veterans, Reservists, and Emergency service leavers, the Battlefield Tours 2023 is where we need your support right now. 

You can support the event in 3 key ways:

As a participant (rider) 

As logistic supporters

Through direct donations via our fundraising page

Attention riders! Help our veterans by going on an EPIC adventure with us

As a rider, you will experience Battlefield Tours 2023 on the ground as a cyclist exploring the iconic D-Day landing sites & Normandy Battlefields in Normandy, northern France. It’s a front-row seat, tracing the footsteps of those who played a part in ending World War II in Europe. We’ll pay homage to the brave soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied forces who brought freedom to the continent. Some of the key sites we’re visiting are:

The new British Normandy Memorial

Southwick House

Pegasus Bridge

D-Day Underwater Wreck Museum

All 5 landing beaches of Normandy

Read more about the historical significance of the Battlefield Tours and all the landmarks, sites, and attractions you will see over the 5-day adventure.

Attention Logistic Supporters! Help with event management & make Battlefield Tours a success

If you’re not up for exploring Normandy but still want to support us on the ground, you can join as logistic support, assisting with event management. We’re looking for cooks, servers, bicycle repairmen/repairwomen, health and safety assistance, and so much more. Your help ensures the 5-day journey runs smoothly, from start to end.

Attention if you can’t participate but still want to help! Your donations ensure we can continue helping Veterans

You don’t have to participate in the event to show your support. You can simply donate through our Just Giving fundraising page or create your own fundraising page on the website and encourage your friends and family to support the event. Every pound counts!

The Legacy of Cardiff to Paris

Check out the video of our first charity cycle event, Cardiff to Paris, to get a sense of what to expect:

Here’s what our riders had to say about the experience:

“The cycle event meant so much to me as a trustee of Woody’s Lodge. I’ve been a trustee since we achieved charity status and being ex-military and now a Police Officer, the ethos and purpose of the charity are very close to my heart.

“I’ve never been a cyclist before, so the Cardiff to Paris ride was a HUGE challenge for me. But I was determined to push myself and complete every centimetre of the ride. I thankfully made it, which made me feel like I earned all the sponsorship money people were kind enough to donate. I have seen first-hand how the money helps Veterans and Emergency Service personnel and know how important it is in saving lives.”

  • Kath

“Woody’s Lodge first-ever cycle event helped me so much. I was so honoured to support a fantastic charity, the camaraderie from professionals to novices was breathtaking. What fantastic friends and memories I made!”

  •  Angela

For me, the Woody’s Lodge Cardiff to Paris cycle event was one of the best charity events I have ever experienced. The people, the planning, and the memories were unbelievable. I can’t wait to do the next one! It’s all about making friends and memories for life while supporting an amazing charity so they can continue their invaluable support and hard work in our communities.

  • Clive Hamilton

Proudly Welsh Veterans Charity

 Woody’s Lodge is a proudly Welsh Veterans’ charity that supports Veterans, Reservists, ex-members of the Emergency Services, and their families through financial, psychological, physical, and emotional assistance. We are inspired by those who once served our beautiful country and show our appreciation by helping them reintegrate back into their communities after distressing wartime experiences.

Looking for veteran support services in Wales? Our team at Woody’s Lodge is here to help. And don’t forget to stay updated with the latest events, news, and insider happenings by subscribing to our newsletter.You can show your support for Woody’s Lodge by making a donation directly on our website or through our charity cycle fundraising page. Or you can join us as a rider or logistics support on our epic adventure through Normandy! Every bit makes a difference and we thank you for helping us reach more veterans in need. Contact us today to find out more.

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