Supporting isolated members of the Armed Forces community during lockdown: our work with The Not Forgotten

Latcham recently worked with armed forces charity The Not Forgotten to distribute 1,000 Boredom Buster booklets to isolated current and ex Armed-Forces personnel during lockdown.

The Not Forgotten Association was established in 1920, with their original aim “to provide comfort, cheer and entertainment for the wounded ex-servicemen still in hospital as a result of the Great War.' Since then, their remit has expanded to providing home comforts and services for ex armed-forces personnel that able-bodied people take for granted, such as TV licences, holidays, excursions and concerts.

The Not Forgotten support “any serving man or woman who is wounded, injured or sick and any veteran with a disability, illness or infirmity; whatever the cause and whenever it arose.”

During lockdown, providing company, support and activities to The Not Forgotten’s armed forces community was challenging, as social distancing precluded physical and face to face activities. The Not Forgotten approached us to partner with them to distribute booklets to their community, as a way of curbing boredom, and a way of demonstrating that as their name suggests - they are not forgotten. Our Specialist Client Director Garry Ford and Senior Account Manager Shaun Piper worked closely with the Not Forgotten to collaborate on design, and to print and distribute a Boredom Buster containing games, puzzles, poems and at-home activities. Sonia Richardson, fundraising co-ordinator at The Not Forgotten writes:

"I can't recommend Latcham highly enough for their printing and distribution services. We were putting together booklets which needed to go out to 1,000 beneficiaries and Garry and Shaun were amazing throughout the project. The initial quotes, all mock-ups, samples and any edits or redesigns were done to a great standard even with a tight schedule. They worked wonderfully with our designers to adjust for any printing specs, talked us through all our different options and advised on choices. The project came in on time and under budget! Thank you both so much, and I look forward to working with you again."

Recently, Latcham signed the Armed Forces Covenant, which is a commitment to “support the Armed Forces community and recognise the value Serving Personnel, both Regular and Reservists, Veteran and military families contribute to our business and our country.” For this reason, we’re particularly proud of this piece of work, and we would like to thank The Not Forgotten for the opportunity of working with them, and hope to work again with them in the future to support their community.