Established in 2014 to recognise children of our British Armed Forces the charity has awarded medals to 120 children who have been especially brave and resilient in the face of adversity.
The Little Troopers winners are all children who have parents serving in the forces and understand first-hand how challenging life can be growing up with a serving parent. Many of the youngsters have experienced long periods of separation from their serving parent due to deployments and military exercises, as well as frequent house and school moves, on top of other challenging life circumstances at home.
Previous winners have included eight-year-old Rubi Smith from Scotland, who has permanent hearing loss in one ear and has amazed her family by continuing to compete in singing competitions; as well as three-year-old Austin Porter from Chippenham who copes with daily pain caused by chronic pancreatitis and has undergone surgery on several occasions while his Dad has been deployed overseas multiple times.
Louise Fetigan, founder of Little Troopers, comments: “Our Little Trooper of the Month scheme is so special. It encapsulates what our charity is about - recognising the unique circumstances that many military children face and helping these children to feel included and celebrated, especially during difficult times. There are so many incredible young people out there in our forces community, from carers to fundraisers and children who have been diagnosed with challenging health conditions. Awarding these children with their own medal helps them to realise that they are amazing ‘little troopers’ and they should feel very proud of themselves.”
You can nominate a child for the Little Trooper of the Month award here: www.littletroopers.net/trooper-of-the-month
The Little Trooper of the Month Award scheme has been given a boost for this academic year in the form of new sponsorship from global technology business, Thales. The sponsorship has enabled Little Troopers to increase the value of the gift voucher that each winner receives to £100 alongside their special Little Troopers medal.
Little Troopers is a registered charity supporting children who have parents serving in the British Armed Forces. Through its resources and initiatives, the charity connects with thousands of military children each year, as well as running special projects such as the Little Troopers All Together deployment club and Little Troopers at School programme. For more information visit www.littletroopers.net