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Rangers Captain James Tavernier has presented two services related charities with a total of £10,000 from the Rangers Charity Foundation’s Armed Forces Fund.

The Armed Forces Fund selects services-related charities to work with each season and for season 2023/24 has supported Military Matters and BRAVEHOUND.

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BRAVEHOUND provides support dogs to veterans who have a clinical diagnosis of a mental health condition such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression or anxiety.  BRAVEHOUND dogs provide companionship and give a purpose and structure to each day for these veterans, as well as being a mechanism to promote exercise.

The charity uses expert dog trainers to provide bespoke support for both the dogs and their veterans.

Military Matters helps members of the Armed Forces community to find a home that suits their needs. With over 25 years of experience of helping people in Scotland, the charity’s friendly team provides practical support, information and advice, including on adapting an existing home to accommodate a disability.

James Tavernier met with representatives from both charities at Rangers training ground, including army veteran Billy Stevenson and his BRAVEHOUND dog Sir Jeff.

He commented: “It was fantastic to welcome representatives from BRAVEHOUND and Military Matters to the training centre to present a donation on behalf of the Rangers Charity Foundation.

“It was inspiring to hear Billy’s story and how much his dog, Sir Jeff, has helped to support him after life in the military.

“The work these charities do is incredible and hopefully this donation can help them to continue to provide their vital support”.

Fiona MacDonald, Founder and CEO of BRAVEHOUND said: “BRAVEHOUND is incredibly grateful for the longstanding support we receive from the Rangers Charity Foundation.

“BRAVEHOUND supports veterans from all three branches of the Armed Forces who live with the effects of trauma related to their military service.  Some of the veterans we work with have physical injuries and we also support their families.

“The funding makes it possible for us to provide assistance dogs and all of the training and welfare support they need over each dog’s lifetime. Our BRAVEHOUND dogs give isolated veterans a sense of confidence and belonging, a reason to get up in the morning and a structure to each day. They enable veterans to get out into the community, provide 24 hour companionship and assist with practical tasks like picking up things, which is particularly important for those with mobility issues.

“Our dogs can transform lives and, in many cases, have been credited with saving the lives of the veterans we are so proud to serve.  We want to thank the Rangers Charity Foundation and everyone who supports the Foundation’s work, with special thanks to James Tavernier.

“James understands the importance of dogs in all our lives and sent us a message of support during the covid lockdown. It means a great deal to everyone here at BRAVEHOUND, many of us Rangers fans, to know that the team and Foundation’s support goes beyond raising much needed funds.”

Also in attendance were Foundation Chief Executive Connal Cochrane and Military Matters representatives Carolynn Malone and Stephen Johnston.

Stephen commented: “We are extremely proud and honoured to have been chosen by the Rangers Charity Foundation to be a beneficiary.

“This donation supports Military Matters to deliver our housing and homelessness advice to more members of the Armed Forces community all over Scotland, and more effectively.

“Our sincere thanks from us and those we support for everyone who contributed to the money raised.”

The Rangers Charity Foundation has a long and proud tradition of working with services related charities and was a joint signatory, along with Rangers Football Club, to the Armed Forces Covenant in 2016, going on to become the first club and club charity in the UK to receive the Armed Forces Covenant Employer Recognition Scheme’s Gold Award from the Ministry of Defence in 2019.

Connal Cochrane added:

“The Foundation is very proud to have donated over £250,000 in cash to armed forces and veterans’ charities to date, as well as significant in-kind support.

“We also have exciting plans to expand our own community programme delivery for veterans later this year.”