DecAid aims to raise more than £350,000 to help current and ex-servicemen and women and their families, who have been affected by the conflict in Afghanistan since it began in 2001.
University of Exeter alumni behind £350,000 charity appeal
A group of Exeter alumni are the driving force behind a national appeal called DecAid to raise more than £350,000.
The money will be raised during a series of events in 2011 which will mark ten years since the beginning of the conflict. These will include physical challenges such as the ‘Munro Mission’ and the ‘Ride 2 Remember’ as well as a publicity event in Edinburgh and a Memorial Service in Salisbury.
The money raised by all these events will be divided between three service charities: Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA Forces Help), The British Limbless Ex-Servicemen Association (BLESMA) and Talking 2 Minds. The DecAid Team are all current or former members of Exeter University Officer Training Corps (EUOTC) which draws its membership from Exeter and Plymouth universities.
DecAid Organiser Rupert Laing (Politics 2009) says: ‘We want to encourage the population of the UK, particularly our generation of under 25 year olds, to stand up and show their support for the work of the courageous and inspiring members of our armed forces. We feel passionately about the cause and we hope to encourage further support for the physically wounded, the sufferers of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the bereaved families.'
The DecAid team are all under the age of 25 and passionate about the cause. DecAid aims to involve all UOTC’s and Cadet Forces in its activities and will actively encourage them to organise their own fundraising events and to act as representatives of DecAid in their area. A part of the DecAid website will be dedicated to those who wish to organise regional events.
In summary, DecAid is a one-off appeal created to raise money for wounded personnel and families who have suffered as a result of losing a loved one. The DecAid Appeal takes no political stance on the war in Afghanistan.’ Rupert says that the Exeter University Officer Training Corps (EUOTC) became a huge part of his life. In his final year he was made Senior Under Officer and was awarded the COMEC Leadership Prize at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He adds: ‘Whilst with EUOTC I also organised two charity events which raised a total of around £19,000. The first was when we had a team of five who ran five marathons up the highest mountain in each of the five countries in the UK and Ireland in five consecutive days.
‘In my final year we then broke the world record for the most people to run a marathon tied together. Despite strong winds and hail the team of 28 people completed the marathon in a time of 4 hours 28 minutes.’
For more information, see the appeal website at www.decaid.co.uk
Date: 27 July 2010
