All over the country, at any given time, you can be sure that in one way or another cash is being brought in for service charities.

The way this happens varies massively, from culinary events to sporting activities, but the good will of the people involved is consistent and their efforts are always a great help.

With those thoughts, here is our latest look at some of the most recent news that has come out of the sector in recent days – maybe you'll find something that will prompt you to help a particular charity at some point?

Blesma helped by football shirt

A range of service charities have long histories and Blesma is one of them.

This charity – which has more than 4,000 members whom it directly gives its support to – helps Veterans who have lost limbs, as well as people who are dependant on them. It can trace its history back to the wake of World War One and its time as a national charity back to the early 1930s.

One of the charity's most recent exciting developments is that the football club Bolton Wanderers has brought out a third shirt, in limited edition, which will be helping its work.

Blesma is the football club's charity partner this season, and £10 from every military green shirt sold will be donated to the organisation.

Only 1,000 shirts have been made, and they include ‘Lest We Forget’ on the back and an extract from 'For the Fallen’ by Laurence Binyon on their inside neck label. Buyers also get a presentation box.

At the moment only people with season tickets can order them, but should any remain come October 14th, they will be opened up to general sale.

"We are delighted Bolton Wanderers have launched this initiative," said the chief executive of Blesma, Barry LeGrys.

"Blesma formed in the aftermath of World War One with amputee veterans helping each other showing teamwork in adversity. Today, our Members face the realities of limb loss every day of their lives, but with support like this they will not be alone as they strive for independence and purpose. We are immensely grateful."

Other recent sporty news from the charity concerns a group of its members, who have recently swum the Channel, becoming the first team of amputees to achieve this feat.

The veterans made the swim in a relay system: Craig Howorth, Stephen White, Conrad Thorpe and Jamie Gillespie, all of them single leg amputees, chose not to don prosthetic legs for the swim, which stuck to Official Channel Swimming Association (CSA) rules.

The September 5th swim took them a total of 12 hours, 14 minutes. It had brought in close to £3,000 for Blesma as of September 17th.

"The crossing of the English Channel by the 4-man, ex-military, amputee team demanded an explosion of sustained swimming effort from the whole team in poor weather and deteriorating sea conditions," said swimmer Conrad Thorpe.

"I am proud to have been a member of the ‘Leg’ team and a part of this success for Blesma and my limbless comrades."

National Memorial Arboretum gives details of Ride to the Wall

Now let's turn our attention to the National Memorial Arboretum, a Royal British Legion charity.

It recently reported that motorcycle occasion Ride to the Wall is going to be happening on October 4th this year.

The yearly fundraising event involves motorbike fans travelling to the Staffordshire-based Memorial Arboretum and attending a special Remembrance service.

This year, there are 11 designated ride starting places which people will be setting off from starting at 8.30am in the morning.

Some of the events planned for the day include a plane dropping poppies near the Armed Forces Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, (which features 16,000 engraved names – all of them service people killed since World War Two ended, either during duty or through acts of terrorism).

There's also set to be a performance from the famed Military Wives Choir.

It's the seventh time the Ride to the Wall day has been held, and thousands of people are expected to take part, from a variety of UK and European locations.

Meanwhile, following the deterioration of a previous memorial at the Arboretum, put in place a decade and a half ago by the Normandy Veterans Association, a new memorial themed around the Normandy Campaign has recently been dedicated there.

Made to tie in with D-Day's 70th anniversary, as well as the disbanding of the Normandy veterans, the memorial was fitted thanks to fundraising from the Normandy Veterans’ Association and The Spirit of Normandy Trust.

It's designed to offer a marker of the people who took part in the Normandy Campaign.

The memorial, 30 ft in length and created by sculptor Ian Stewart, was unveiled by His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester.

Posted by Samantha Thompson. ADNFCR-2867-ID-801751375-ADNFCR

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