Supporting our Armed Forces

Finmeccanica in the UK is also deeply committed to supporting the Armed Forces through a range of charitable organisations and initiatives such as SSAFA (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association), Help For Heroes, and the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team (CSDST), which engage in fundraising to support those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces, as well as those members of the Armed Forces who have been wounded in the service of their country.

AgustaWestland Trainees raise just under £60,000 for charity and support community projects

AgustaWestland’s Apprentice and Student Association (AWASA) regularly organises a wide range of fundraising activities in support of a charity or charities every year; breaking their own charity total record in 2010 by raising the sum of £27,683, which was donated to Help for Heroes and a local charity for brain injured children.

Fundraising activities have included a gruelling 60-mile walk around the Isle of Wight in two days, a regular company lottery, and a number of collections from generous AgustaWestland employees.

AWASA also support a number of community projects on an annual basis; recently involving the creation of a wildlife pond area in a local primary school and creating a helicopter-shaped play area in another; as well as the development of a garden area at a local centre for disabled residents and the planting of 512 trees in an hour for a BBC nature project.

A group of AgustaWestland graduates involved in the AgustaWestland Philanthropic Association (AWPA) raised a total of just over £28,000 in a year for the Prince's Trust, through several innovative and entrepreneurial fundraising ideas including a major online auction and the creation of some popular branded tee-shirts. Together, AWASA and AWPA have donated a large amount of money to some important local and national causes, and will continue their efforts in the years to come.

SELEX Galileo employees support Help for Heroes

SELEX Galileo employees have shown great commitment to raising funds for Help for Heroes, a charity organisation established in 2007 that provides valuable support and rehabilitation to injured servicemen and women who are trying to rebuild their lives after combat. The UK sites raised nearly £10,000 for Help for Heroes through a range of fundraising activities which included a special Walk2Work day where each Charity Committee agreed to donate £1 to the Help for Heroes charity for every employee taking part. In addition, cake sales, charity walks and company events raised additional funds for this worthy charity.

SELEX Elsag sponsors Exercise Mercury’s March

Mercury’s March was a Royal School of Signals fundraising activity on behalf of Help for Heroes. This was a 285-mile route march undertaken by 30 Tri-Service personnel and held over 5 days to raise awareness and support for those wounded or injured in Afghanistan and Iraq in recent years. SELEX Elsag was the main sponsor for the event, and presented a cheque for £15,000 at the start of the march on Plymouth Hoe. The Company’s Personal Role Radios were used throughout the activity to co-ordinate the marchers, and Finmeccanica presented a further cheque for £15,000 when the marchers reached the end of the route at the Tower of London.

British Adaptive Ski System Innovation Council (BRASSIC)

BRASSIC was formed in order to explore ways in which the UK Defence Industry could harness their collective engineering expertise and capabilities to enhance the adaptive performance skiing of the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team (CSDST) athletes through their use of the equipment.

The Consortium is led by the UK Ministry of Defence and a core team including Disability Snowsport UK (DSUK), SELEX Galileo, Thales, Supacat and Qinetiq. In particular, SELEX Galileo is involved in optimising the performance of the Out-Rigger which is used by both sit-skiers and three track skiers, primarily to aid balance.

SELEX Galileo will be undertaking the system design process to ensure that the architecture, components, modules and interface of the overall solutions are appropriately blended, safe and optimised for performance in their target environment.

SELEX Galileo sponsors the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team

As part of its ongoing commitment to the armed forces, SELEX Galileo sponsors the CSDST, enabling its members to pursue the sport and rehabilitate those who have suffered a serious injury. The CSDST is open to all serving members of the armed forces with a permanent disability received through operations, illness, or accident. All those who join the team are put through an intense four-month development programme that provides them with the skills and techniques they need to be able to compete at the highest levels. Through the dedication of the athletes, it is hoped that some may go on to represent Great Britain in international competitions and the Winter Paralympics in 2014.

So far the charity teams in Luton and Basildon sites have raised a total of £40,000 to support the CSDST through a number of fundraising activities. In 2010, a group of 12 employees took on the challenge to cycle from Luton to Rome, a total distance of over 1,000 miles. Teaming up with three disabled servicemen, they started the two-week challenge cycling approximately 90 miles every day.

The team was joined by Captain Martin Hewitt of the Parachute Regiment, Sergeant Mick Brennan from the Royal Signals, and Lance Corporal Pete Dunning from the Royal Marines, who were all wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan, and cycled sections of the journey in specially adapted bicycles.

In October 2011, SELEX Galileo organised a charity dinner and auction at Salters’ Hall in London in support of CSDST, which raised £40,000.

The ‘Georges Leygues Challenge 2012’: ‘The Not Forgotten Association’ (NFA)

The ‘Georges Leygues Challenge 2012’ sailing day was a wonderful charitable event organized by AVRO Yachting and Fairview Sailing Ltd. It brought together representatives from across the defence and security industries, to raise funds and support the worthwhile causes of ‘The Not Forgotten Association’ (NFA); which ‘help servicemen and women whose lives have been affected by conflict or subsequent injury’.

Finmeccanica UK Ltd and its companies, SELEX Galileo and SELEX Elsag, joined forces to support this commendable cause and to enter a crew in the Oceanis 37 yacht “Apres le Vent”. Finmeccanica’s crew included Nick MacLeod-Ash (Finmeccanica), Tom Hyatt (SELEX Galileo), Dave Keep (SELEX Elsag), Ian Punton (Millbrook Aviation Services Ltd), Wg Cdr Neil Cummins (RAF), and Pete Burwood (skipper).

Finmeccanica’s UK Chief Executive, Alberto de Benedictis, said: “we were delighted to be able to enter a team and to assist with the fund raising initiative to support the good work of The Not Forgotten Association’ (NFA).”

Other organisations that contested included Babcock, Inmarsat, Dytecna, Hale Hamilton Valves, THALES (UW), Sperry (Marine), and The Not Forgotten Association.

The Finmeccanica team came a commendable 4th in their first appearance in the George Leygues Challenge. This year’s racing helped to raise in excess of £2,000 for the charity and raised the profile of NFA.

For further information about the Not Forgotten Association, please go to www.nfassociation.org/.