RMC Annual Review 2020-21 digital (1) - Flipbook - Page 7
Introduction
Welcome
Your
donations
and nonmonetary
contributions
change lives
Lieutenant General Rob
Magowan CB CBE
Commandant General,
Royal Marines
President
We Royal Marines pride ourselves
on being an all-encompassing Corps
Family. Occasionally, despite drawing
on great mental and physical courage
to battle their challenges, there are
serving and retired Royal Marines and
families who are facing daily challenges
they cannot overcome alone.
As the Royal Marines’ own, RMA – The
Royal Marines Charity is uniquely
placed to understand, respond and
react, enabling Marines and their
families to overcome their challenges,
including life changing injury, life
limiting illness, mental illness,
transition to civilian life and poverty.
This is the support required which
provides confidence to those serving,
allowing them to focus on the job at
hand. It directly contributes to the
operational effectiveness of the Royal
Marines and to the defence of our
nation. It also provides reassurance
to those who have retired that the
phrase ‘once a Marine, always a Marine’
is not a hollow statement but one
backed up by action and that the
challenges they may find themselves
facing do not have to be faced alone.
“We ensured that
every £1 donated
was turned
into £2.48 of
value created.”
Top: Lieutenant General Rob Magowan CB CBE
Middle: Mrs Lynn Fordham
Bottom: Mr Jonathan Ball
As the Corps’ own Association, RMA
also seeks to draw together every
member of the Corps Family both
to celebrate and commemorate.
By building a large worldwide body
of active Members, a safety net
is provided that can stave off or
lessen the impact of the challenges
that service brings, and can ensure
mutual support and comradeship
across the generations.
Thank you for your support to
RMA — please help us to encourage
as many as possible to join and
become active Members so that we
can offer early assistance but also
better celebrate and represent the
Corps Family in our wider world.
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Celebrating the 75th Year of the RMA
www.rma-trmc.org
Mrs Lynn Fordham
Mr Jonathan Ball
Chair
Chief Executive
2020 saw needs rising across every
sphere of our work, following
trends from previous years but
exacerbated by the pandemic. To
meet this rising need year on year, the
Charity has put in place the people,
resources, and processes necessary
to provide effective support:
The Royal Marines represent timeless
excellence and punch above their
weight in defence, and as their
charity, we seek to do the same.
Through the mergers that have now
disappeared from the rear view
mirror we have created the most
wide-ranging and growing regimental
charity in the UK, and we have been
working to share our experience
and model with charity partners in
the Navy and Army communities.
• Prevent – ensure that members
of our community do not
descend into acute need
• Respond – provide holistic
support to those who have
serious mental, physical or other
challenges which threaten their
independence and dignity
• Assure – provide professional
and safe support
• Inform – ensure that our
community knows how to promote
good health and welfare, and
where and how to seek help
• Collaborate – ensure that members
of our community are assisted by
the most appropriate source
If we did not carry out our work, it is
likely that because of the proud nature
of our community, they would not
seek assistance elsewhere and sadly,
the consequences of this include
suicides. The increasing mental health
support requirements in the veteran
community are stark – in 2019 twelve
Royal Marines veterans committed
suicide, an alarming increase. The
Charity responded in 2020 by running
a ground breaking campaign #Lifting
the Lid which was praised by the NHS,
Samaritans and Zero Suicide Alliance.
Despite COVID-19 which attacked every
part of our fundraising capability, the
cradle to grave support delivered in
2020 reached more of our community
than ever, creating over £11M of value
including saving the state over £2M in
benefits through our support to assist
those discharged through injury or
illness into work. We ensured that every
£1 donated was turned into £2.48 of
value delivered. Thank you to all who
have ensured this work can continue.
We applied the Commando Mindset
to the pandemic by understanding,
adapting to, responding and
overcoming its challenges. We intend
now to further improve our current
support in the 2022-24 period, and
we are planning for 2025-30. The
permanent forward deployment of the
Corps will bring new challenges which
we are determined to be ready to face.
We intend to build our membership
to 25,000 so that we will better
represent our whole community, and
to become effective advocates for
them in the UK. Most of all, we seek to
increase our proactive and preventative
work through our Association, so
as to decrease the number of Royal
Marines and dependants who find
themselves in crisis situations, saving
money but also preventing suffering.
I thank all who have helped us along
the way, with particular thanks to
Major General Matt Holmes CBE DSO
who gave outstanding support as our
President 2019-21; the Corps who have
welcomed us closer in to the fold than
ever; our parent charity RNRMC who
have given us substantial financial and
staffing support; our many charity
partners who have taught us so much
and saved us reinventing the wheel;
our corporate and individual donors
whose generosity has been staggering;
our members who were just amazing
in applying the Mindset to their care of
one another and innovative support
of RMA during the pandemic; and an
incredible staff whose adaptability,
stamina and sense of humour in
the face of adversity is awesome.
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