Serve & Protect Credit Union: December Webinars

️ Upcoming Webinars:

Eco-Friendly Ways to Save Money

Dates: Mon 1st December, Mon 15th December

Time: 12:00 PM – 12:45 PM

What to Expect: How you can live a greener life, helping you to save money and care for the planet.

Register Here

Motorfinity: Top tips to finding suitable Black Friday car deals

Motorfinity have created a blog post with advice on Black Friday car deals.

The article covers:


What Black Friday car deals are
Who offers them
The type of deals you can experience
Top 5 tips to finding suitable deals for you
How to find out more about our Black Friday deals

To read the Motorfinity blog please go to: 

Our top tips to finding suitable Black Friday car deals | Motorfinity

Scotland: Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) bulk recruitment for EO Work Coach roles, South West Scotland apply before 11.55pm Thurs 11th December

The Department of Work and Pensions has 13 new DWP Work Coach Executive Officer opportunities in South West Scotland. 

These are now open for applications until 11 Dec 2025.

Civil Service Jobs link: Universal Credit Job Centre - Work Coach -Executive Officer - South West Scotland (Ref: 751) - Civil Service Jobs - GOV.UK

This Saturday: All Together Online drawing workshop with ART BASE - 29th November 2025

All Together ONLINE – Live Sketch Along Session, Saturday 29th November 2025, 10:00 hrs

Join Art Base for this online sketch along where you'll learn to draw a cute dormouse together! Online access link will be emailed prior to the session, all you need is paper, pencil and a rubber.

👉 Book your family space here

All Together sessions run every other weekend until April 2026.

Sessions are free, but places are limited. Please only book if you are confident you can attend so that as many families as possible can take part.

About All Together Online - All Together is a club that brings military children together. As part of this, All Together Online offers a series of exciting, live, online events especially for military children under 11 years old.

Everyone from the serving military community is warmly welcome to join us.

OPERATION BULLSEYE – Qualifier events up to May 2026

OPERATION BULLSEYE is a unique darts event that pairs professional players with serving personnel and veterans in a knockout tournament like no other.

Details of registration for competitors, and all other events, can be found on the posters and within the below link.

More details to follow for spectators but it is shaping up to be a great event that is open to all three services and veterans, please share around your departments.

https://www.defencedartscommunity.co.uk/registration

BFPO: Last Posting Dates Christmas 2025

 

Click on poster to enlarge.

To ensure your Christmas letters and parcels reach their destination in good time, it’s always a good idea to post as early as possible, the latest posting dates in time for Christmas Deliver are above or at the following link: Get ready for Christmas 2025 │ Royal Mail Group Ltd

First Defence Finance: Resources from Safer Gambling Week

Last week marked Safer Gambling Week, and our colleagues at First Defence Finance (one of the three MOD-endorsed Credit Unions) have produced a booklet on this topic that can be viewed online at: 

👉 https://heyzine.com/flip-book/FDFGamblingSupport

Read on for further information:

Military Co Working Network: Free virtual connection events

The following are free virtual connection events that are running this week for military spouses and partners.

These events are organised by the Military Co Working Network.

Tuesday 25th November
9:30am – 12pm
Virtual co-working
Runs every week
Link to register Events | Military Coworking Network

Tuesday 25th November
7:30pm – 9pm
Virtual games night
Link to register Events | Military Coworking Network

Thursday 27th November
10:30 – 11:30am
Virtual event
How to make and edit great Reels

Join Kiara from BFBS to learn how to make Instagram Reels that will stand out and help you meet your goals. Kiara will go into how to film and edit, along with how to come up with great hooks and get those views rolling in!

Link to register Events | Military Coworking Network

Royal Mail: Letters to Santa – to arrive by 10 Dec latest

Are your children writing a letter to Santa this Christmas?

Make sure they send their letters to Santa by 10 December.

Don't forget to include a full name and address on the back of the envelope so Santa can reply.

The address to send letters to is:

Santa/Father Christmas
Santa's Grotto
Reindeerland
XM4 5HQ

For more info please visit: https://www.royalmail.com/christmas/letters-to-santa

Defence Your Offer: Black Friday 2025 - Defence discounts make your money go further

Black Friday 2025: Defence discounts make your money go further

The countdown is on! Whether you’re ticking off your Christmas list early or saving up for something special, this year’s Black Friday event is your chance to make every penny count.

In Defence, your offer provides access to exclusive savings as a member of:

• Defence Discount Service – For all staff, veterans, and Armed Forces families – giving access to thousands of online discounts from over 14,000+ brands.
• Blue Light Card – The UK’s leading discount service for the Armed Forces, emergency services, NHS, social care sector and teaching community, giving access to thousands of online discounts from 15,000+ brands.
• MyLifestyle – For Defence Civil Servants – giving access to thousands of online and instore retail savings from over 800 retailers.

Defence Discount Service and Blue Light Card

Here’s what to expect this Black Friday…

• Early access to some of the biggest discounts of the year –Members will enjoy 24-hour priority access to daily deals before the public – meaning you can snap up savings first.
• Exclusive offers throughout November – with discounts from top brands, including Panasonic, KitchenAid, Nike, loveholidays, Gousto, Dyson, VistaPrint, Benson for Beds, Charlotte Tilbury, Halfords, and more.... And remember, many of the offers from Blue Light Card and Defence Discount Service can be combined with brand Black Friday discounts for even bigger savings!
• Mark your calendar for Friday 28 November to Monday 1 December – and get ready to see just how much further your money can go!

More than discounts: rewards and support for our community

Army HIVE: Relocation Checklist for moves within the UK and to/from overseas - now launched!

Army HIVE has now launched its Relocation Checklist, which is a comprehensive document listing all of the ‘know before you go’ actions to consider for Service personnel and their families on the move.

The checklist is in two parts, all within one document; the first part covers moves within the UK or back to the UK, and the second part covers overseas moves. As well as being a useful planning and reminder document, there are links throughout to the relevant resources that will enable our customers to find out more on each topic area.

To access the Relocation Checklist, please go to any of the following platforms to view, download or print:

• Army HIVE Sharepoint (MODnet access required) - HIVE. The Relocation Checklist can be found in both the Overseas Postings and the Relocation within or back to the UK sections.
• Our UK HIVE Blog – Information Sheets section: https://armyhiveinfo.blogspot.com/search/label/Information%20Sheets
• Our Overseas HIVE Blog - https://internationalhive.blogspot.com/ – click the Relocation Checklist button in the top menu
• Our British Forces Cyprus HIVE Blog - https://cyprushive.blogspot.com/ - click the Relocation Checklist button in the top menu

Please note that documents hosted on our Blogs can only be accessed from a personal or non-MODnet device.

For any queries on moving or how to find out more about a new location, please contact any HIVE. See www.army.mod.uk/hives , use the contact buttons on any of our platforms, or email HIVE HQ on RC-Pers-HIVEComms-0Mailbox@mod.gov.uk

Our iHIVE can support with information on moves overseas worldwide and is listed as an action on the Overseas Supportability Checklist also – please get in touch via RC-Pers-HIVE-iHIVE-0Mailbox@mod.gov.uk with any questions on any location.

Army Cadets UK – ‘Our Year in Review’ is now available to read online

Army Cadets UK – ‘Our Year In Review’ is now live.

Check it out to learn more about what Army Cadets have been up to over the last 12 months – to read in full please go to: https://bit.ly/4hrL6Pw

Recruit For Spouses Latest Newsletter - Free Digital Marketing Bootcamp, Deployment Support and More!

To read this latest newsletter in full please click here: Free Digital Marketing Bootcamp, Deployment Support and More!

To find out more about the support offered by Recruit For Spouses, please visit: https://www.recruitforspouses.co.uk/

The Ripple Pond: Autumn Newsletter 2025

The Ripple Pond exists to ensure that everyone caring for a loved one who has a service attributable physical or psychological injury in the British Armed Forces Community is genuinely seen, heard, and supported.

To read this latest newsletter in full please click here: Autumn 2025 Newsletter

To find out more about the support offered by The Ripple Pond, please visit: https://www.theripplepond.org/

Your Offer - Armed Forces Survey now open

Our people deserve a reward package that meets their needs & reflects their dedicated Service.

Regular personnel – what parts of the #ArmedForces Offer are you most satisfied with? And where do you need extra support?

Tell us so we can build an Offer that works for you 👇

https://ow.ly/2RET50XmmUg

X-Forces Enterprise Self-Employment Discovery Virtual Workshop – 9th December

Do you want to be your own boss?

Join our virtual workshop on 9th December where we'll help you make an informed decision on whether a start-up is the right choice for you and your family.

Learn more and book your place at https://bit.ly/3TGnrQh or get in touch for further information.

Give Us Time – Winter Update

 

The latest Give Us Time update has details of their ‘Give Us A Moment at Christmas’ opportunities, including tickets on the ‘Polar Express’, THREE new breaks in Scotland for next year, and the opportunity to raise some funds.

For more information please go to www.giveustime.org.uk

Never Such Innocence: Online Military Kids Choir

🎤 Military Kids Choir - The choir is open to tri-service children 8-18 years old, located across the UK and overseas. The group meets online to see friends and write songs and there are fun opportunities for the choir to come together to record and perform their songs throughout the year. Here is the link to sign up: https://form.jotform.com/221313741394047.

For more information please visit: https://www.neversuchinnocence.com/

National Baby Week: 14th – 20th Nov 2025. This year’s theme is ‘Healthy parent, healthy baby’

Friday 14th Nov marks the start of the national Baby Week campaign. There are a number of activities happening across the country to promote the best start in life, celebrating early childhood and raising awareness of the vital first five years through annual citywide events and national collaboration. See babyweek.co.uk for more information.

Give Us Time - Welfare Update Winter 2025