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To help alleviate cost of living pressures for veterans, Coles has agreed to donate 50 cents from each pack of Coles brand bakery 12 pack cookies to Bravery Trust between 20 and 25 April.
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According to Belinda Wilson, chief executive of Bravery Trust, Coles’ support would help deliver essential safety nets for those who were injured or suffered illnesses during their service in the ADF amid rising cost of living pressures.
“Bravery Trust was established 10 years ago to ensure that injured veterans would not be financially disadvantaged if they were injured during service,” Wilson said.
“For those in financial hardship, we can provide emergency assistance with household, medical and food bills. We also provide longer term financial support for education, retraining to join the workforce, budgeting and financial upskilling to help families take back control of their financial situation.
“Bravery Trust values the power of working with other agencies, including Defence and Ex-Service organisations, ensuring veterans are central to the work we do and can get holistic support.”
The recent cost of living spikes are particularly impacting lower income households and those in rural or regional areas.
Bravery Trust has also confirmed that they have begun collaborating with the ADF Consumer Centre for the delivery of financial counselling services to veterans.
Chair of Bravery Trust and author of After the Blast Garth Callendar explained how providing veterans with financial literacy services was a critical advantage to ensure long term stability and independence.
“When financial circumstances change suddenly and unexpectedly, veterans injured during service have a financial safety net provided by Bravery Trust,” Callender said.
“However, we were finding the Band-Aid solution wasn’t actually changing lives. A significant percentage of our beneficiaries would return at a later stage with the ongoing financial problems.
“Empowering veterans through financial literacy leads to a better financial outcome for their family and, importantly, restores pride and increases the confidence of veterans to build their own financially sustainable future.”
According to Callender, 97 per cent of those who required aid did not require further support after receiving financial counselling.
“We say Bravery Trust provides a ‘reset’ button – to help veterans overcome challenging times and start a new journey,” Callender continued.
The Bravery Trust has a long relationship with the ADF, including the recent five Chiefs of the ADF with Governor-General David Hurley AC DSC serving as the current Patron-in-Chief.
[Related: Bravery Trust supports veterans facing hardship with virtual trek fundraiser]
