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Our latest news

Keep up to date with the latest news from the RAF Association

Contact the RAF Association’s media team

Mondays to Fridays – 8.30am – 5pm: 0116 464 5066

Out of hours:
For urgent media enquiries only, please call 07867 591057

Key information

Learn more about the work of the RAF Association

The Royal Air Forces Association (or RAF Association), is a membership organisation and registered charity that provides welfare support to the RAF family.

The Association exists in the recognition that RAF personnel and their immediate families dedicate their lives to their country, and to ensure that such a sacrifice does not result in suffering, poverty or loneliness.

Whether it’s an injured airman fighting to get back on his feet, a young child missing their parent away on overseas operations, or a World War II veteran needing a shoulder to lean on, we are here to help all generations of RAF Service personnel and their families.

Our membership of over 72,000 includes serving RAF personnel, veterans and non-service individuals who want to show their support for the work that we do.

With a UK-wide caseworker network of over 540 volunteer Honorary Welfare Officers undertaking over 82,000 welfare contacts annually, help ranges from simply providing conversation and friendship to preparing and submitting application forms for financial assistance.

Our Storybook Wings initiative helps to ease the pain of separation for children with parents serving overseas. We provide equipment for parents to record a bedtime story along with a personal message for their children. We then edit the story and add sound effects before sending it on a CD to the child. Parents can choose whether the CD is sent before they deploy or whilst they are away. This is a hugely important initiative as it provides a vital link between parents and children at what can be a difficult time. Find out more about Storybook Wings here.

We work closely with the RAF to support serving personnel to ensure that they and their families enjoy as normal a life as possible. For example we contribute to refurbishment of contact houses on stations to allow separated RAF families the chance to enjoy quality time together.

We distribute more than £1.78m in welfare grants to serving and ex-serving personnel as well as helping to secure more than £460,000 in pension and compensation payments for those facing financial hardship.

We assist around 50 RAF veterans or their widows/widowers to lead safe, independent lives in our sheltered and supported housing. We provide much needed respite care breaks for around 2,000 people.

Through the RAF Families Federation we give RAF personnel and their families the chance to influence future policy

Fundraising

Wings Appeal

The fundraising arm of the RAF Association is the Wings Appeal. With the support of our fantastic volunteers we run a number of events throughout the year. Serving RAF personnel raise a huge amount of money each year through fundraising challenges, including endurance challenges, skydiving, cycling challenges and aircraft pulls. Many of them also take part in marathons, half marathons and other running events. Non-service personnel, including many veterans, also work tirelessly on our behalf and we remain indebted to them for their ongoing support. Find out more about our fundraisers here.