AN ex-forces charity, set up by a dale veteran to help other servicemen, is in the running for a top accolade.
Sporting Force, which was set up by Tommy Lowther, from Butterknowle, has been nominated in the Soldiering On Awards. The aim is to recognise those who have served their country as well as the groups from across the country who work to support the armed forces community.
The Newton Aycliffe-based charity was set up in 2015.
Through sport and working with professional footballs clubs, its aim is to help veterans and their families move from military life to life as a civilian. Sporting Force has helped more than 500 ex-service personnel and their families in the last two years.
This has included support with social engagement, gaining work placement opportunities, finding courses, finding full time employment and housing issues. In recognition for the work, the charity has been selected as one of three finalists in the Business of the Year Community Impact category.
Mr Lowther, 35, said: “We were quite successful last year in the Teesdale Business Awards and we are up again this year. We also got a couple of national awards but for what we do, you can’t get any bigger than this. I never thought we would be anymore than nominees. It is incredible.
“It puts us up there on a pedestal with the likes of The Royal British Legion and Help For Heroes and all of those other fabulous charities which are excelling in what they are doing.”
Mr Lowther and his team have been invited to attend a congratulatory reception at the House of Lords this Thursday, February 8. The final awards ceremony is due to take place on April 20 at the Park Plaza Hotel in London.
Mr Lowther said: “We are still a relatively new charity. Just to be nominated is incredible. To be one of three finalists is amazing.”
When Mr Lowther left Teesdale School, he went on to serve with the 1st Battalion Light Infantry and completed a tour of Northern Ireland and served in Gibraltar. He left military life behind in 2001 when he was medically discharged with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Having turned to Help For Heroes for support, Mr Lowther is now focused on helping others help themselves through football and other sports. The charity has access to 92 professional football clubs and is now starting to work with professional rugby and cricket clubs.
Mr Lowther said: “When I was diagnosed with PTSD I needed something to keep me ticking over. I was working with Middlesbrough Football Club as a scout. I spoke to them and said I had this idea. It has just snowballed from there. As the saying goes, mighty oaks from little acorns grow.
“I have got a fantastic team behind me now. It is amazing. You just can’t put a price on the feedback we get from veterans and their families.”
