Why does the Veterans' Foundation support Step Together Volunteering?

Step Together Volunteering works to help people who are excluded from society to participate in volunteering and build a more positive future for themselves.

Clients are those on the fringe of society. A quarter of the beneficiaries are young people suffering from a variety of issues, from those leaving care and those at risk of homelessness, to young offenders, teenage parents and sufferers of domestic violence and abuse.  

Step Together Volunteering also help adults who face significant challenges as a result of critical injury, trauma, drug and alcohol misuse, long-term unemployment, mental illness, homelessness, isolation and disengagement with society.

Veterans, too, form a section of society who have benefited significantly from Step Together Volunteering.

At the centre of what Step Together stands for is that everyone counts and everyone has something to offer.

It reaches over 3,000 people a year across the UK, of which up to 600 receive intensive one-to-one support from our team of outreach workers to engage in community volunteering.  

Sean is a veteran who was injured in a grenade attack in Afghanistan in 2011. He was left almost paralysed down one side, deaf in his left ear and unable to speak.

He found that volunteering – in his case with the Leeds Rhinos Foundation - had been a life-changing experience.

“I just didn’t want to sit at home,” he said. “Volunteering means I can get out and makes me feel much more relaxed. 

“I’ve supported Leeds Rhinos for years and it’s great to be able to work for them in my local community.

“Volunteering can really make a difference in both physical and mental health.”