Thanks for taking the time to visit the JustGiving page for the Vodafone Vertical Victors team.  Our aim is to raise funds to support the Skiing with Heroes Charity.  The team is Nicola Rossi, Chris Baines, Jayne Malpass and Tony Wicks.

If you click the VVV team link below you will see we have already raised nearly £5000 towards our target, but we need your support to get us over the line!  You can use this team page to make a donation.  Thank you!

This great charity has a unique and intensely personal approach to rebuilding shattered lives. 

The team of four volunteers will be paying all of the costs
so 100% of what you donate will be helping the veterans directly.

As part of a Vodafone team of four, in events taking place 28-31
January 2016, we will be tested against other corporate teams as well as veterans in a ski marathon and a grand slalom. Vodafone is donating our time for the competition and will generously be matching some of our funding. 

In February 2016 SwH will be helping 22 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who have had life changing injuries back into employment through a ski-based support, mentoring and induction programme. 

Many veterans struggle to find jobs because of their injuries,
and the charity's work continues once their ski week is done. Every veteran on the 2013 ski week that asked for SwH's help in finding employment has now found a job. 

You can also read about the work of Skiing with Heroes
here: 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2825194/Hope-heroes-meet-forces-veterans-lives-transformed-charity-Skiing-Heroes.html 

And at http://skiingwithheroes.com/

Below are some quotes from Veterans who took part in last year's
programme:

“In every way possible, Skiing with Heroes has turned my life
around”

“I am so very, very grateful for all that you and your team did
for me (and my wife). I am still smiling which is such a change for me. I am starting to feel happiness which has been absent for far too long now. I do believe that my recovery has begun.”

 “With my walking stick, I’m an invalid, in skis, I’m just
another person”

"I feel like my life has moved on a million miles”

“It was as if a line had been drawn in the sand. I stopped thinking about the negatives and realised I could look forward to the future”

No donation is too small, but here are some examples of where
the money goes:

£25 - is a valuable contribution towards the Skiing With Heroes
veteran assistance costs.

£100 - pays for a significant chunk of a veteran’s one-on-one
mentoring. Helping a veteran focus on a progressive, achievable life-plan is crucial. Such support can take many forms, from the building of business plans and instigating lifestyle routines, to seeking the right professional or medical advice.

£500 - helps to pay for the full assisting of a veteran into sustainable employment. This entails everything the veteran requires from strategising, job seeking, CV writing, interview guidance, starting a job and beyond.

Mentoring a veteran typically costs £1,000 per year, and the
employment programme costs about £5,000 per veteran.

All UK-taxpayers, please remember to tick the gift aid box, as
this allows the charity to reclaim the tax suffered on your donation. For a £100 donation, this means the Charity receives £125 which significantly aids the programme.

I cannot deny that I also love skiing and think this will be an
experience which will push me to my physical and mental limits whilst raising money for a cause that means a lot to me. Meeting and skiing with the veterans will be an incredible challenge, physically and emotionally.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure.
Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send
unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

As part of the commitments made by signing the Military Covenant, we asked for volunteers to form a Vodafone Group team to enter the Skiing With Heroes business challenge, competing against other businesses and medically discharged veterans in a ski marathon in January 2016.  Each of the team entering have pledged to raise at least £10,000 so it is all systems go for the Vodafone Group team's fundraising efforts.  The newly formed team, called VVV - Vodafone Vertical Victors have strong credentials and support for the military is close to their hearts. 

The money you kindly donate will go directly to supporting the rehabilitation and mentoring of medically discharged veterans back into employment, for many of whom the thought of returning to employment is a distant dream.  You can read more about the work of the charity at http://skiingwithheroes.com/