We are all about spreading the love to the fire family throughout the year. But during February, we’ll be delivering some extra love to those people who sometimes go unrecognised for the role they play in the fire service: the people you depend on at home.
We want to celebrate the people with whom you could not do without. The husbands and wives, girlfriends and boyfriends, fiancés, best friends, parents, grandparents, carer, or children… anyone who you can say without question that they are your rock. And we’re here to help you tell them just how much their support means to you.
“The people at home are often the unsung heroes of the fire services community so we wanted to recognise this with our Valentine’s Day campaign throughout February,” says Individual Giving Officer Nicky Young. “Whether it’s being a listening ear after a particularly stressful shout, juggling home lives around additional duties and changing shift patterns or just being a constant source of support for a career that inevitably impacts on family life, we know how important these people are to the fire service. So we’re inviting everyone to let us play Cupid on their behalf and send a Valentine to their ‘rock’, and in doing so enter them with the chance to win a special treat to say thanks.”
Throughout February, you can send your rocks a special message of affection, which we will pass on to them to let them know someone thinks they’re pretty fantastic. Then they’ll be entered into our competition and the winner will receive a £25 Amazon voucher and a pack of eight Natural Defence Hand Rub, kindly donated by our friends at Neal’s Yard Remedies. And five additional runners up will also receive a pack of eight Neal’s Yard Natural Defence Hand Rub.
“As well as being a nice gesture, there is also an important reason for us wanting to celebrate the dependants at home,” says Nicky. “Our support extends to the partners and spouses of any serving or retired member of the fire services community. So if something is affecting the wellbeing of your loved one at home, we may be able to help them, even if they themselves are not in the fire service.”
One such dependant who has benefitted from our support is Louise Moody, whose partner Josh is a Bedfordshire firefighter. Josh says he is all too aware of how important a role Louise plays with his own support network and the impact his career can have on her as well.
Louise approached the Charity for psychological support when she found herself struggling with her mental health, receiving a course of online counselling as a result.
“If anyone was hesitant about making the first step and reaching out, I’d say go for it,” says Louise. “I was amazed how quickly they responded to me and how willing they were to help. It hadn’t occurred to me that I could use their services as well, but the way their support branches out to the whole fire support system is just amazing.”
Josh says he thinks it’s important partners and dependants know they’re eligible for the Charity’s support, not just serving personnel: “Any partner to a firefighter, Louise included, whether they are aware of it or not, they’re probably the first stage of the diffusing process for some of the difficult things we witness. I’m acutely aware of that, so my message to all dependants is to remember the Charity is here for them as well.”
If you’d like to recognise your rock and send them some love through our campaign, you can do so via the link below. The last date for entries will be Sunday 28 February, with prize winners drawn on Monday 1 March.
Support for families
Did you know our services also extend to your dependants at home? That means it isn’t just you who could benefit from our support, it’s also your spouse or partner, as well as dependant children, all of whom we may be able to help if something is affecting their physical, mental or social wellbeing.
Browse some of the stories of other dependants and families who have already benefited from our support, to find out how your loved one could as well.