Military children set to conquer Snowdon to raise money for Little Troopers

MORE than 50 people from across the British Armed Forces, including six children, are set to conquer Snowdon this weekend on a trek to raise money for Little Troopers. 

The group will set out up the Llanberis Path on Saturday 9 September, aiming to raise more than £8,000 for the tri-service charity, which supports children with one or both parents serving in the forces.

Little Troopers was founded by British Army veteran, Louise Fetigan, in 2011 and has become well-known for its work championing military children over the last decade. Funds raised from the Snowdon trek will go towards Little Troopers resources, initiatives and events that support military children at home and in school, especially during challenging times such as when their parent is deployed or a child has to move house, school or country.

Last year Little Troopers launched two new projects including its All Together deployment club and the Little Troopers Therapy Programme. The charity’s Little Troopers at School programme has also recently been nominated for a Teach Secondary award.

Included in the group are the 21 Medical Regiment Welfare Team from Yorkshire and a team from Recruit for Spouses, the social enterprise that helps military spouses access employment. The youngest of the group is Violet Couzens, aged six, who will be joining the climb with her nine-year-old sister, Poppy. The sisters from Cheshire chose to join the climb after using Little Troopers resources when their Dad, Matty, served away with the Royal Marines.

Speaking about the climb, Poppy (9) commented:

“Our Daddy works away a lot which is hard because we miss him lots and Mummy cannot make fluffy pancakes like Daddy can! Little Troopers has helped when our Daddy was away with our books that we filled in and helped us chat about our feelings and gave us ideas on things to do. I am feeling unsure about the climb because it’s very high and will take a long time but we have been doing a lot of training walking and cycling.”

Also climbing is Louis Darwell (9) from Merseyside. He commented:

“I’ve chosen to support Little Troopers because I know how hard military life can be for kids. We’re born in this world and it’s tough, I’m so proud of my daddy and I love being part of the Royal Navy family but I do really miss him. When he gets deployed I worry, we may get to speak to him every few weeks and we get the odd email during the week but my life is just meant to continue as normal and everyone around me at school, and my activities don’t see how much I’m hurting inside. This is why Little Troopers is important to me, it brings awareness to the struggles we face, and it provides schools with support so they can better understand what we are going through. It makes us feel connected.

“I’m really excited to climb Snowdon I know it will be tough but that’s what makes it worth it. I guess that’s military life though. I’m also really looking forward to meeting other military families and children because they understand how we feel.”

Louise Fetigan, founder of Little Troopers, added:

“Little Trooper is a small charity with a big heart doing its very best for all the military children out there. We are so grateful to all our Snowdon fundraisers, especially to the children joining the climb who are taking on a huge personal challenge. Being a military child is a unique experience and it is wonderful to see children who have benefited from our charity choosing to raise money to support other little troopers just like them.”

To donate to the Little Troopers Snowdon trek visit: https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/campaign/snowdon-2023-for-little-troopers

For more information about the work that Little Troopers does, please visit: www.littletroopers.net.