Mark Francois, MP for Rayleigh and Wickford, and Armed Forces Minister recently attended the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund’s annual parliamentary reception, held this year in the State Rooms of the Speaker’s House in Westminster.
Mark was joined by 27-year old Luke Wigman, who was seriously injured in Afghanistan whilst he was mentoring a team of Afghan troops. Medically discharged last year, Luke faced the daunting prospect of finding a new career. Like many personnel leaving the Service, he was unsure of a future career path but with support from the RAF Benevolent Fund he is now working as an Emergency Care Assistant for the East Midlands Ambulance Service.
Speaking at the event Luke said: "The RAF Benevolent Fund helped me to get on to the right path to find a career outside of the Service and assisted me to get back into civilian life."
The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund is the RAF’s leading welfare charity, providing financial, practical, and emotional support to all members of the RAF family, including serving and former personnel, their partners and dependants.
This year’s reception focused on how the RAF Benevolent Fund is helping serving personnel and their families, as well as those transitioning back to civilian life after Service.
Commenting on the event, Mark Francois said:
"Last year the RAF Benevolent Fund spent more than £18 million helping over 60,000 members of the RAF family. Of this, £3.2 million directly helped serving RAF personnel and their families, who often have very different needs from older, ex-serving airmen.
The RAF Benevolent Fund provides serving families with a range of support, from helping families in financial distress to making homes of injured personnel more accessible and providing specialised equipment for children with disabilities, so I was pleased to demonstrate my support for the Fund at this special event."