The Trust receives many appeals from charities who work with people experiencing particular difficulties in their lives, who are vulnerable and in need of support. Grants are provided under one of the Trust’s humanitarian programmes.   The Army Benevolent Fund Since 1982 the Trust has provided regular donations, typically £25,000 per annum, to the Army’s central charity, to enable it to make humanitarian grants to former soldiers (and their families), who are in need as a result of age or infirmity, or suffer as a result of military conflicts around the world. The grants have been used towards providing a variety of mobility aids such as wheelchairs, stair lifts, and bath hoists. In other cases, small but essential repairs have been needed to keep homes safe and comfortable, replacing worn carpets, unsafe cookers, broken beds and leaking roof tiles.span> The Outcome With the Trust’s support The Army Benevolent Fund has been able to assist more than 1,000 former soldiers and their families to maintain their independence and quality of life. Many old soldiers are now living alone, on basic state pensions and with limited support from Social Services, who are unable to supply urgently needed equipment within an acceptable time frame due to budget constraints. Often a relatively modest amount is all that it takes to ensure that they can continue to live in their own home or to visit the local shops and amenities. They no longer feel isolated and depressed, and are able to continue to take an active part in community life. Help has been given too to younger soldiers who are in need following more recent conflicts. How the outcome met the Trust's aims The long standing involvement with The Army Benevolent Fund exemplifies the humanitarian ethos of the Trust. This grant programme has had a significant impact on the lives of those whom the Fund has been able to help, in addition to showing support and appreciation to those who have made sacrifices for their country.
	The 999 Club Operating in three particularly deprived neighbourhoods in south east London, this charity provides many and diverse services including taking people to hospital or to a drug rehab, helping the victims of domestic violence to gain a safe house, finding accommodation for the homeless, and collecting prescriptions. Through its small grants programme the Trust is but one of many financial contributors to the charity’s outstanding efforts to assist in providing for the well being of vulnerable people in its local community. The outcome 999 Club Centres are open every weekday and over the course of a year they welcome thousands of visitors; the cold and hungry, the depressed and the lonely, those with addictions, those without homes, and deprived children. They offer help, advice, or just friendship, all of which can be so important to those who are vulnerable. How the outcome met the Trust’s aims The work of the 999 Club is a practical demonstration of the humanitarian spirit which Sir Jules Thorn so admired, and which contributes so much to helping those who are experiencing difficulties in their daily lives.