Perfect present for Littlehampton’s military SOS team

Support Our Soldiers (SOS) was presented with a bank-busting cheque for £1,000 on Saturday (October 18).

The charity, which supports lonely servicemen and women while serving overseas and domestically, was presented with the cheque by Janet Williams, of Broadwater Carnival Society, which raised the cash.

Penny Keen, area co-ordinator for SOS, said: “This is a lot of money for us. It’s the biggest donation I have ever had towards our charity, which is amazing.”

Penny said she was thrilled at not only the donation but at one of the special guests at the presentation.

Royal Marine Captain Neil Williams was the first person to receive a care package from SOS and he managed to turn up to the presentation.

“It was lovely having him turn up on the day,” Penny said. “He was the first package I did. Since then, I’ve done over 1,500 of them!”

The cash windfall will be used to not only help the charity with its latest parcel drive but to pay for a significant amount of the costs needed to fund the training of an assistant dog which would help wounded veterans do routine chores and tasks.

Each dog costs up to £20,000 and SOS has already raised enough money to train one animal.

To donate cash or gifts to the charity, call 07771 605455.