‘Credit to Paul Brewer Photography’
Military families were reunited this week when Little Troopers, the children’s military charity, kicked off the first of their “All Together” family reconnection weekends.
In January, the organisation revealed they were launching a series of four fully funded family reconnection weekends for forces families to spend quality time together outdoors, funded by Team Forces.
The charity hosted its first weekend this week in Portland, Dorset, with eight families taking part in action-packed activities at the Portland Outdoor Centre in Castletown.
Families arrived on Friday (2nd May), kicking off the weekend by spending time together over a beautiful sunset on the beach and drinking hot chocolates.
On the second day, families got to try out coasteering at Portland Bill, exploring the shoreline by swimming, jumping, scrambling and climbing the rocks and cliffs, and learning coastal bushcraft and cooking fish on the fire. Families headed home on Sunday 4th May after giving kayaking, rafting and stand-up paddleboarding a go.
Louise Fetigan, Founder of Little Troopers, said: “Our new family reconnection weekends are aimed at families before, during or after a period of separation or deployment, to help ease periods of separation and help children to connect with their parents. Our Dorset weekend went brilliantly. It was so lovely to see families getting stuck in with all the activities and it was a real joy to see everyone laughing and enjoying some special time together. Military families are generally quite active families, so we felt the weekend really played to these families’ strengths and interests and we hope it will help them to have bonded with one another, whether they’re facing the difficulties of an impending deployment, missing a parent who is away, or welcoming a parent home as they settle back in.”
The Little Troopers weekends invite between six and eight families, with one or both parents and up to four siblings aged nine to 18, to go away for an exciting few days of outdoor adventure and connection, where they are encouraged to put down their phones, meet new people and make memories. Each weekend runs from Friday to Sunday at no cost to the families.
The dates and locations for the next three Little Troopers All Together reconnection weekends in 2025 are: Friday 13th June to Sunday 15th June 2025, New Forest, Hampshire.
Friday 25th July to Sunday 27th July, Brenscombe, Wareham, Dorset.
Friday 26th September to Sunday 28th September, Portland, Dorset.
The events form part of the charity’s broader ‘All Together’ programme which brings together young people from across the military community to benefit from spending time with others who have shared similar life experiences. For more information about Little Troopers All Together and to learn more about the charity’s work supporting military children, visit www.littletroopers.net