In the summer of 1981, just a few months before his 21st birthday, Russ Kirby was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash. His left arm was paralysed and his naval …
Defending the poppy title
Back in 2015, Lydia came to the factory on a volunteering day with the company she used to work for. In just under three hours, she made a whopping 1493 …
Finally I have found a job I believe I will be good at
Dom was a Driver Lineman in the Royal Signals for just over 10 years but left in 2007 due to a heart condition, PTSD and anxiety. He went into a …
Poppy Factory receives Freedom of the Borough
The Poppy Factory has been awarded the borough’s highest honour in recognition of its work. As part of the borough’s commemoration activities to mark the end of 100 years since …
A Day in the Life of Employment Consultant Kirsty Gronow
Kirsty is one of The Poppy Factory’s 22 Employment Consultants who provide bespoke support for ex-Service men and women with physical and mental health conditions. We caught up with Kirsty to …
Danny’s Story – Our 1000th veteran helped
Father of two Danny Kitcher, 44, from Birmingham, is the 1,000th veteran to be supported into work by The Poppy Factory since the start of its Getting You Back to …
1,000 wounded, injured and sick veterans supported into work
The Poppy Factory has reached the milestone of supporting 1,000 veterans with physical or mental health challenges back into meaningful work, following a summer campaign urging people to write or …
Tony’s Story
Tony, a former soldier was helped back into work by The Poppy Factory after a heart transplant. Tony who served in the Gloucestershire Regiment for five years, sought help from …
Wayne’s Story
My name is Wayne Harrod and this is my story on how I was helped by The Poppy Factory. I was in the Army, Infantry, 1 Royal Anglian. During December 2001 …
Ciaran’s Story
Two years after being medically discharged from the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, Ciaran Muir, 27, found meaningful work in the civilian world. In 2012, after serving in the British Army …
The public can help wounded veterans into work by joining The Poppy Factory’s #1000messages campaign
The public are being urged to help our veterans back into work by adding their messages of support to a campaign starting Monday 25th June by The Poppy Factory. The …
This week is Men’s Health Week
It is a good opportunity to stop and think of how we can give our support to those who suffer from mental health conditions. Statistics on men with mental health …
Vicki’s Story
In 2016, Vicki, a Staff Sergeant, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd) after 22 years serving in the British Army. “Joining the army was the best thing I did and …
Rave Review
How many veterans did we help back into work in 2016/17? How much money did we raise? How many poppies did we produce? All of these questions and more are …
The Poppy Factory Christmas Campaign
A staggering number of UK adults (Two thirds of workers) said they would be worried about being able to pay their rent, mortgage or bills if they lost their job …
The Poppy Factory signs Mindful Employer Charter
We are pleased to announce that The Poppy Factory has signed up to the ‘Mindful Employer’ Charter for employers who are positive about mental health. Only around a quarter of …
Employability Day 2017
It’s National Employability Day today – a chance for us to drive the conversation about disabled people in the workplace and to learn a bit more about the efforts that …
Introducing ‘The Employer Toolkit’
Want to hire ex-Service people or provide a more inclusive workplace for those with mental or physical health conditions? Great news for employers all over the UK: We have developed …
Visit from Welfare Minister, Caroline Nokes
Welfare Minister, Caroline Nokes, visited The Poppy Factory last week to learn about how the charity helps disabled ex-Service individuals back into employment. The Poppy Factory’s employability work is naturally …
“On the job” training vital for veterans with MH
A new report commissioned by The Poppy Factory finds that ex-Service personnel with a serious mental health condition are nearly three times more likely to find and stay in work …
We did it!
When we began our Getting You Back to Work initiative in 2010, we weren’t sure how things were going to work out. We knew that we could potentially reach and …
London Welsh announces TPF as “Charity of the Year”
London Welsh is proud to announce local Richmond-based veterans charity The Poppy Factory as the club’s second official charity this season. The club will be joining forces with The Poppy …
New monthly Drop-In in Burnley
Working with Salute You, we have opened a new monthly veterans drop-in in the North West. Starting on the 7th July, it will run on the first Tuesday of every …
TPF & National Express: Driving Ex-Forces Employment
Poppy Factory clients were given a day-long workshop on customer service by National Express last week as part of their ‘Military Promise’ to support people leaving the Armed Forces. The …
#HomelessVeterans – Surviving On The Streets
Did anyone see Ed championing The Poppy Factory in the Independent or Evening Standard this week? Their #HomelessVeterans campaign has already made waves, with Boris pledging £200k this week to …
Armed Forces Covenant – does it help?
Interesting exploration of where the Armed Forces Covenant is and isn’t working on The One Show last night (5/1/15). Take a look about 2 minutes in, some part are quite …
