Last week we bought 90 Little Troopers ‘all together’ at Go Ape in six different locations around the country. The activity was part of our All Together programme, which connects forces children through adventure days, workshops and residential weekends.

Louise, our charity founder, said: “Children with parents serving in the Armed Forces share a special connection. Only they can really understand what it’s like to have a serving parent and the challenges and uncertainty that this can bring. Our All Together programme is all about connecting children so they can benefit from spending time with each other. Feedback from parents tells us that these sorts of events have a positive impact on military children’s wellbeing. They help them to feel recognised and understood for the amazing little troopers they are.”

90 military children enjoyed a morning in the trees in Alice Holt, Cannock Chase, Chelmsford, Southampton, Temple Newsam and Wendover. The children, who had never met each other before, first took part in ice-breaking games. Then they took to the infamous Go Ape high ropes and zip lines on a Treetop Adventure.

One of the parents attending commented, “It’s a really good idea for service kids to meet each other. They got to value different experiences and build their self-confidence together. I’ve recently been deployed for three months, and my daughter hasn’t seen me during that time. It was a nice way to spend the morning with her.”

Go Ape Alice Holt Site Manager, Keri Cairns, said, “It was fantastic to meet the little troopers and help them get to know each other before they headed into the trees on their treetop adventure.  There’s nothing like balancing on a wobbly bridge or zooming down a zipwire to help young people instantly bond with each other and make new friendships.”

The Little Troopers All Together programme is funded by the Veterans Foundation, Greenwich Hospital and  Henry Sale Foundation.

What’s next?

We have just announced the new programme of online workshops has something for everyone. Aimed at children under the age of 11years, the Autumn/Winter schedule looks like this:

Families can sign-up for the new round of free weekend workshops here.