“Your cheque arrived today and thanks to you, I was able to put my heat on for the first time this winter. I am ashamed to say that I just went upstairs and even put heat on in my bedroom.”
The Veterans’ Support Committee (VSC) was established in 1949 to support the 20,000 Canadian veterans who remained in the United Kingdom after both World Wars after they took their discharge. Since then, the VSC has continued to provide practical and social assistance to these veterans and their dependents.
The VSC is an invaluable emotional and financial resource, providing quarterly payments and additional funds at Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving, as well as on the veteran’s birthday. Each disbursement is accompanied with a handwritten note which, for many, is the only remaining contact they have with Canada.
Your support of the Maple Leaf Trust will allow the VSC to continue to help these Canadian veterans in their final years.
Maple Leaf Trust Emergency Fund
Created in 2009 in response to veterans growing need for assistance with unexpected and urgent financial assistance. These emergency funds are intended to help with the following:
Annual subscriptions for home alarm call buttons
Mobility aids (i.e. wheelchairs, walking frames, electric recliners, zimmer frames)
Unexpectedly high utility bills
Respite care
Assistance following flooding or fires in the home
Small modifications to the home to make the environment safer and easier to negotiate, such as the installation of grab rails.
Housekeeping while recovering from illness or surgery
Annual cold weather payments when necessary to recipients of ANCVO*.
These examples are not exhaustive and every application will be considered on its own merits. Veterans and their dependents can apply for this assistance through contacting the Veterans Affairs Canada office in London:
Telephone: 020 7258 6339
Email: vac.information.acc@canada.ca
*ANCVO is a benefit paid to means tested Veterans. For more information on the benefits paid to Canadian Veterans living in the UK, please contact Veterans Affairs Canada on the number above.