The Forces Employment Charity is calling on the public to show their support for Remembrance Day this year, by taking part in its national poppy pebble painting initiative.
The Poppy Pebbles project is a simple but powerful initiative that encourages schools, veterans, and the public alike, to paint a poppy on a pebble and place it on a war memorial, or headstone of a veteran, as a way of commemorating Remembrance Day.
Anyone choosing to take part in the initiative is encouraged to carry out research into identifying and even visiting local war graves, via the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, finding out information about the service person buried there.
Colin Back, National Manager of Project Nova at the Forces Employment Charity who devised the initiative says:“The Poppy Pebbles project has grown exponentially over the last few years.
“We originally started the project as a way of encouraging vulnerable veterans to take part in a mindful activity during lockdown. Since then, the initiative has really captured people’s imaginations.
“Poppy Pebble Painting is now being taken up all over the country by people from all walks of life – we even have a few famous faces getting involved. It is a wonderful way to commemorate Remembrance and we hope to see more people than ever signing up to take part in this free event.”
For more information, including a free Poppy Pebbles resource pack, visit: www.forcesemployment.org.uk and search for Poppy Pebbles 2023.
To donate to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, visit:
The Forces Employment Charity will be marking the Month of the Military Child this April, with a brand new set of resources to help young people of those who Serve and have Served with their next career step.
The charity, which was founded in 1885, originally helped veterans find civilian employment and has since expanded its services to offer support to Military families. This has recently extended to offering employment support to Young people from military families, both serving and veteran within the M3 area, owing to its unique EM3 Armed Forces Veterans and Families Programme.
The team working in the EM3 Armed Forces Veterans and Families come from military families themselves and therefore understand the importance of supporting young people who face an ever-changing situation, from frequent moves, education gaps and separation from parents’ and social networks.
Through extra support in education, training and expanding the pool of employment choices and a caseworker, the programmes supports young people to plan a clearer future.
The charity also works with many young people from across the UK through its long-standing programme, Future Horizons. This programme helps early Service Leavers with the next stage of their civilian career, which often includes younger veterans aged between 16-25.
Resources created for the Month of the Military Child will be specifically tailored to help those with little to no work experience of the civilian world, including a starter 101 series which will cover all the basics job seekers may need to get started, such as:
How to write a CV
How and where to look for jobs
How to write a cover letter
How to manage your first interview
The charity is also planning a social media takeover, which will include insights from people who grew up in Military families, speaking about their experiences, how they have shaped their careers, plus any advice they have to offer others from a similar background.
Joanne McLeod, EM3 Armed Forces and Families Programme Manager at Forces Employment Charity, says: “As a Military spouse, I understand the unique challenges that affect Forces families. From frequent house moves, to needing to fit in and make friends quickly, there can be a lot to manage.
“This can be particularly challenging for service children, who are moving schools, skipping parts of the curriculum and leaving behind their social networks. However, living in such unique circumstances also equips the Military community with an incredible skill set that can set them apart from other job seekers.”
Dame Joanna Lumley is supporting the initiative. Speaking about the impact being a Military child has had on her own career, she says:“Like many Military children, I went away to boarding school at a very young age.
“It meant I had to be able to find my feet pretty quickly and find ways to be able to relate to lots of different types of people. I never realised at the time how much those experiences would come to help me in my career!”
Joanne McLeod adds, “Our role at the Forces Employment Charity is to help people recognise those skills and find the best possible way to present themselves to employers, to maximise their chances of success.
“This is especially important for those just starting out, such as Military young people and/ or Early Service Leavers. I am delighted that we are able to offer a new and specialist set of resources to support this group in celebration of the Month of the Military Child.”
The Forces Employment Charity provides life-long, life-changing support, job opportunities, and training to Service leavers, veterans, reservists and their families, regardless of circumstances, rank, length of service, or reason for leaving.
Its team of dedicated Advisors can help job seekers develop their employability to present candidates to employers in the best possible way. That can involve advice on what to apply for, how to find work and develop a good CV, interview skills, training, etc.
A host of stars and influencers, such as Sophie Ellis Bextor, Anneka Rice and Sammy Winward, are showing their support for Remembrance Day this year by backing a national poppy pebble painting initiative, led by the Forces Employment Charity.
The Poppy Pebbles project invites schools, veterans and the public alike, to paint a poppy on a pebble and place it on a war memorial, or headstone of a veteran, as a way of commemorating Remembrance Day.
Those taking part are encouraged to undertake research into identifying and visiting local war graves in their area via the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website, finding out information about the veteran who was buried there.
Colin Back, National Manager of Project Nova at the Forces Employment Charity who devised the initiative says:“The Poppy Pebbles project initially started life as a mindfulness activity during lockdown for some of our more vulnerable veteran clients, who we support into employment.
“However, we found that the idea really struck a chord with the public more generally and now sees people taking part all over the country, from all walks of life, as their way of commemorating Remembrance.
“We are delighted that this year the Poppy Pebbles project has also captured the imagination of some famous faces too, who are helping us encourage more people than ever to get involved.”
