Case Study

Combat Stress

Combat Stress

When the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge set up their Royal Wedding Gift Fund they knew they would be helping 26 charities. What they might not have anticipated is how these charities could then begin to help each other. Seven young people from County Durham have shown them how…

The Keyfund group calling themselves Combat Stress is made up of seven young men and women between the ages of 17 to 20 and supported by their facilitator David Brien. The young people used Keyfund money to put on a fundraising event to benefit the military charity Combat Stress and have turned their £250 into an impressive £1000 to help ex service personnel overcome mental health conditions.

The young people who make up Combat Stress are all currently taking a course in Public and Community Services at New College, Durham. They are also members of various Army Cadet Forces. As part of their course the young people consider many social concerns, not least of which mental health problems and the devastating effect these can have. In addition one of the young women has an uncle who directly benefitted from Combat Stress’ support to help him through some post-traumatic stress. It seemed the obvious choice for the group to give something back.

The group planned a couple of different activities for their fundraising stint which centred around military fitness. They were sponsored per repetition of press ups and drill exercises and for how many team obstacle courses they could solve and complete. The young people canvassed for support across the community and have brought in an overwhelming £1000 for their efforts.

It is not only the charity Combat Stress which gets to benefit though. The young people themselves have benefitted from developing their Keyfund skills – in particular dealing with people in power and authority for example conducting formal meetings and Health & Safety assessments.

The group are raring to go with their next project which they are hoping to use for further personal development. They’ve learnt the importance of organisation and have set themselves targets to improve planning their time and energy.

The young people in this group hope to go on to have careers to support and serve others, putting themselves second. With ambitions demonstrated by their Keyfund project, we know they can only go from strength to strength. Truly inspirational.