Kent Arts and Wellbeing have been delivering this project on behalf of Age UK Thanet with funding from the Armed Forces Covenant Trust Fund – Positive Pathways.
Working with Espression Arts, Adrian Bawtree and the Young Animators Club, the project is delivering creative activity to veterans in Thanet . These creatives have been supported by a team of trained volunteers, including a veteran.
The activity includes working with ceramics, singing and animation. The main focus has been working with veterans living in Maurice House, an RBL care home in Broadstairs. Over 40 veterans and their dependants have taken part, with fantastic results. We have managed to continue delivering creative sessions for most of the pandemic, but the the latest and most infectious strain ,omicron, closed Maurice House to visitors and reduced our capacity to deliver. It has however prompted us to develop an online capability, spawning a new project to help activity co -ordinators within care homes deliver activity with external support.
In addition to the work in Maurice House we have also worked with veterans in the community based at Age UK in Margate and are working with veterans in Tankerton. The project is due to finish in May/June and we are planning a special celebratory concert at Holy Trinity Church on 14th May. The concert will feature a veterans’ singing group, who will be supported by the Central Band of the Royal British Legion, and the Military Wives Choir from Shorncliffe. The veteran’s will sing specially adapted songs linked to animated film that they have produced, and there will be an exhibition of their ceramics and animation work with specially adapted music to reflect animation .
The concert which starts at 4pm is free . Do come along for a special afternoon.
