Case Studies Archives - The League of Remembrance

Level Best

Unlocking Potential – Level Best Enterprises

Colchester-based charity Level Best Enterprises delivers meaningful life and work experience for young adults with learning disabilities (Trainees) in its café, art gallery, gardening and kitchen enterprises.

Through our partnership, supporting Trainee placements over five years, the League of Remembrance helps open doors to practical skills, new friendships, and growing independence.

Overcoming Barriers

Many young people with a learning disability are socially isolated and face obstacles that make work and community involvement daunting. Level Best provides:

Meaningful work experience in the purpose-built café, kitchens, produce and art space, and outdoor locations
Safe, supported and accessible spaces for hands-on job training
Support for building workplace confidence
Social activities

Making a Difference

With the League’s direct support, Level Best funded participants:

Learn catering, customer service, and teamwork
Practice skills in a real, supportive environment
Build their sense of purpose and belonging

Your donations help fund training placements that prepare young adults for future employment.

Stories That Inspire

Our partnership has supported 20 tailored training placements, each designed to unlock potential.
One Trainee refined their CV, overcame interview anxiety, and found their first role as a laboratory assistant, leading to a full-time senior role in the lab.
Nicola lacked confidence in public settings and now greets visitors with self-assurance and professionalism in the Level Best café – her transformation is a testament to the power of encouragement.
James took the brave step to take public transport on his own for the first time to his Trainee placement, has grown in confidence and made new friends. He has since started volunteering for a community event in his home town.

These achievements show how small opportunities can become turning points for young lives.

The Value of Dignity and Inclusion

Level Best delivers much more than training:

Every interaction marks real progress
Each exhibition or community event fosters self-worth and connection
Dignity and inclusion are woven into every activity

This work is a direct reflection of the League’s aims:

To rebuild lives with dignity
To create meaningful opportunities, not just charity
To help people thrive by helping others

Join the Effort

Supporting charities like Level Best Enterprises means we can shape brighter futures together:

Volunteer, donate, or simply share these stories of progress
Make a donation to support similar projects
Consider corporate sponsorship for one of these initiatives

Our work has the potential to change lives. Would you like to be involved? Please get in touch

High Ground: Finding Roots to Recovery Through Horticultural Therapy

in Case Studies/by Aron Johnston

At the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC), Stanford Hall, recovery is about more than clinical treatment. It is about rebuilding confidence, purpose, and community. Through our partnership with HighGround, we supported the development of willow weaving as a therapeutic activity for residents to undertake as part of their recovery from serious illness or injury. Using specially adapted tools and new craft skills, residents learnt how to make festive wreaths and table top decorations that they could take home to share with their families and friends.

About HighGround

HighGround is a national charity that helps service leavers, veterans, and reservists build “life beyond the military – outdoors.” One of its core programmes is Horticultural Therapy, delivered at DMRC Stanford Hall, where Occupational Therapists specially trained in Horticultural Therapy use plants and gardening activities to achieve clinically defined goals.

Patients referred to horticultural therapy often live with complex conditions, including neurological injuries, chronic pain, and limb loss. Sessions are tailored to suit each patient and their recovery goals. They aim to support both physical and mental health and wellbeing, helping individuals regain confidence and functional ability in an environment that is peaceful, purposeful, and healing.

Since 2014, HighGround has delivered thousands of therapy sessions, from planting and maintaining gardens to creative projects such as wreath-making. The beautiful garden with a large greenhouse, surfaced paths, raised planting beds, and adaptive tools enables patients with differing mobility needs to enjoy sessions working outside, giving them tangible achievements and a renewed sense of control.

The Impact of Willow Weaving

Our recent support enabled HighGround to establish willow weaving as a therapeutic activity. Our funding enabled HighGround Horticultural Therapists to undertake specialist training and work with a local craftsman to develop new skills so that they could run their own sessions with residents.

Working with willow helps build strength and manual dexterity. Undertaking a creative activity helps to support people psychologically by building confidence, improving mood and wellbeing. Learning a new skill helps to improve cognitive function, including following instructions, sequencing correctly and memory recall. If done in a group, it also provides a great opportunity for social interaction and supports team building.

Feedback from residents has been very positive, with one recent participant enjoying several sessions of willow weaving and commenting, “That was the best exercise I have been given for my hand!”

With our support, the benefits of willow weaving are now clearly understood, and the new skills acquired by the HighGround team will continue to benefit residents at the DMRC for many years to come.

Why This Matters

It costs HighGround approximately £115 to deliver one session of horticultural therapy. Every session is an investment in dignity, recovery, and belonging. By supporting HighGround, the League of Remembrance helps ensure that no injured service person is excluded from opportunities to heal and grow.

Warrior Equine

in Case Studies/by Aron Johnston

Warrior Equine – Supporting Positive Mental Health Through Horses

Trauma carries invisible weight, and for many Veterans living with PTSD or other psychological injuries, traditional therapies are vital, but not always sufficient. That’s why the League of Remembrance was honoured to fund three Veterans to attend a three-day programme at Warrior Equine, a not-for-profit community interest company specialising in equine-assisted coaching.

About Warrior Equine

Warrior Equine works primarily with Armed Forces personnel, veterans, and emergency services staff who have experienced severe trauma. Their team of experienced facilitators uses horses in structured programmes designed to help participants manage PTSD, anger, social withdrawal, and difficulties adjusting to civilian life.

Through groundwork and guided interaction, participants learn to regulate emotions, rebuild trust, and improve self-esteem. Horses respond instinctively to human behaviour, offering honest feedback that encourages participants to find calm, clarity, and confidence.

The organisation’s ethos is simple but profound: “Taking back control of emotions, rediscovering trust, self-esteem, and reigniting zest for life.”

The Impact

The three veterans that we supported engaged in a calm, supportive environment, where horses became both teachers and companions. Each session focused on emotional awareness, non-verbal communication, and resilience. The results were powerful: improved mood, reduced anxiety, and a renewed sense of belonging.

Feedback from participants across Warrior Equine programmes shows that equine therapy can spark real transformation. Many report greater emotional control, stronger coping mechanisms, and the confidence to reconnect with family and community.

“We’re delighted to have received a generous new grant from the League of Remembrance. They will be sponsoring places on our Mental Resilience programme for three veterans in 2025. Recognising and supporting all three branches of the services, these places will be allocated for 1 x Royal Navy, 1 x Army and 1 x RAF.

Our gratitude to the Secretary To The League, Maj Rob Thomas who visited a course earlier this year, and said “the best of luck with your on-going work – so vital and so much appreciated, by both ourselves and most importantly, by those who you help”.

Why It Matters

For veterans, healing from trauma is a journey, not a single step. By supporting places on Warrior Equine programmes, the League helps ensure that Veterans living with PTSD and other challenges have access to innovative, life-changing support.

Together, we are turning remembrance into action, supporting those who once served by offering them dignity, recovery, and hope.

Please kindly donate to Support More Programmes like this.

Sport For Confidence

in Case Studies/by Aron Johnston

Sport For Confidence – Building Inclusion Through Access

Access is often the invisible barrier to participation. Through our support of Sport For Confidence, the League of Remembrance has helped provide training for disabled volunteers and funded a Boccia ramp so more people can take part in sessions.

Volunteers received Makaton training, enabling them to better support the communication needs of participants and create a more inclusive environment during activities. The impact is already clear. Volunteers now feel more confident assisting others during sessions, and participants who may previously have struggled to engage are joining in more easily.

This support goes beyond equipment and training, it helps remove barriers and sends a clear message that sport and activity should be accessible to everyone.

The results are already visible. Volunteers now confidently assist others during classes, and participants who previously felt excluded are joining sessions with ease. This improvement is not just physical, it’s symbolic. It sends a clear message: sport is for everyone.

About Sport For Confidence

Sport For Confidence is a pioneering community health service that places occupational therapists and coaches into leisure centres and community spaces. Their unique model reimagines physical activity by prioritising people furthest from sport and exercise, particularly those with learning disabilities, long-term health conditions, or complex social needs.

By embedding occupational therapy into sport, Sport For Confidence creates opportunities that go far beyond exercise. Activities become a gateway to improved health, greater independence, and a stronger sense of belonging. For many participants, these sessions are about friendship, confidence, and purpose as much as fitness.

One carer explained: “These sessions are so important for people with learning disabilities – they feel accepted and learn social as well as sporting skills.”

Why This Matters

Sport can transform lives. It improves fitness, boosts mood, and builds agency, but only if barriers to participation are removed. By supporting training and infrastructure improvements, the League helps ensure disabled people can access these benefits equally.

Together, we are helping to create communities where inclusion is not an afterthought, but the foundation, and where every individual has the chance to thrive through sport.

Shore Leave Haslar

in Case Studies/by Aron Johnston

Reconnecting Through Nature – Shore Leave Haslar

Shore Leave Haslar is a community project based in Gosport’s historic walled gardens, where Veterans find restoration not just through therapy, but through nature’s quiet power and the steady companionship of others.

The Challenge

Many Veterans leaving service face:

Feelings of isolation or loss of identity
Lingering effects of trauma or anxiety
Reduced sense of purpose in daily life

Our Approach

The League of Remembrance is proud to support Shore Leave Haslar – a therapeutic horticulture project that offers:

Welcoming, inclusive spaces for Veterans to gather, reflect, and participate
Safe, structured gardening activities that rebuild routine and skills
Ready access to a supportive community and peer understanding

Our support enabled Shore Leave Haslar to purchase new tools and materials, making the gardens accessible to more Veterans.

The Impact of Horticultural Therapy

At Shore Leave Haslar, the value of gardening extends far beyond the soil:

Improves physical health and strength
Provides mental focus and calm
Reduces feelings of anxiety and stress
Fosters new friendships and a sense of belonging

Each season offers fresh starts and measured progress, mirroring the patience and perseverance of the Veteran community.

More Than Tools – A Place to Grow

The new tools we provided do more than enable planting. They help Veterans to:

Take part in something meaningful
Experience achievement in group and solo projects
Restore self-confidence and find renewed direction

Weekly tasks range from planting and tending gardens to arts, crafts, and shared tea breaks; always carried out in an atmosphere of respect and encouragement.

Aligned Missions

Our partnership with Shore Leave Haslar embodies the League’s broader mission:

Honouring service through practical, inclusive support
Fostering dignity, independence, and renewed purpose
Building resilient communities through simple acts of care

Join Us

Whether you choose to volunteer your time, donate (however small the amount), or share our story, you can help us to continue our work supporting incredible people and projects like Shore Leave Haslar. Please get in touch.

Charlton Park RDA

in Case Studies/by Aron Johnston

Riding Towards Independence – Charlton Park RDA

Charlton Park Riding for the Disabled (RDA) gives children with disabilities a meaningful opportunity to grow in confidence, ability, and independence. Our partnership with Charlton Park RDA demonstrates how dedicated support and community spirit can help children discover what they are capable of achieving.

The Challenge

Many children with disabilities face:

Barriers to confidence in daily life
Limited access to activities that encourage independence and self-belief
Fewer opportunities to develop social connections

Our Approach

The League of Remembrance chose to support Charlton Park RDA by:

Providing support for a new therapy pony, specially selected to assist more young people during sessions
Sponsoring regular, supervised riding sessions designed to build core skills and resilience
Proudly sponsoring the annual Princess Beatrice Award, which honours outstanding progress by a young rider

The Difference Riding Makes

Through regular contact with professional volunteers and horses, children at Charlton Park RDA:

Improve balance, coordination, and physical strength
Gain valuable confidence and greater independence
Experience positive connections with peers and volunteers
Are recognised for individual achievement through ceremonies that gather the whole community

What We’ve Seen

More children now enjoy safe, consistent riding experiences
Families report seeing new confidence, pride, and participation at home and in the community
Volunteers and staff value the sense of shared progress and belonging that grows every season

Why This Matters

Our mission is to honour and support lives of service, resilience, and dignity. By helping Charlton Park RDA flourish, we affirm that every child deserves to be recognised for their strengths and invited to succeed on their own terms.

Join Us

If you’d like to help more children benefit from programmes like this:

Volunteer as a helper or fundraiser
Share our story to build awareness and support
Partner with us or donate to extend these opportunities to more families

Together, we can ensure every child has the chance to experience accomplishment, pride, and connection – values at the heart of the League of Remembrance’s work.