Stand-up for veterans gives confidence boost

December 4, 2020

Stand-up for veterans

We’re getting into the festive spirit here at the Trust, with updates from some of the great projects supported through our recent Forces Communities Together programme.

Today we’re catching up with Nomad Construction Training CIC, part of Project Recce, who received £10,000 for ‘Project COMEDY’, a series of online comedy workshops for veterans.

Members of Project Recce take part in a comedy workshop online
Laurence Moore, Operations Director at Project Recce, explains…

Project Comedy is a morale booster designed to support our beneficiaries through the winter months.

It’s common knowledge that the military runs on its humour, and the ability to laugh about difficult situations truly allows a beneficial release. When the opportunity became available to deliver Project COMEDY, we knew it would be a great success!

Find out more at www.projectrecce.org

Online courses are being delivered by Laughing Horse Comedy and will culminate in a live-streamed stand-up show, which will be compared by well-known comedians and allow the students to put all of their newly learned skills to the test.

They say that laughter is the best medicine, and, following such a tough year, we are grateful to be able to provide such an exciting project.   

The veterans involved will use weekly sessions to build up their ability to write and perform their own stand-up routine, which we are sure will be a fitting tribute to the military sense of humour. 

Adapting to a Covid environment

The group has used lockdown to develop their ability to deliver online training through a combination of Google Classrooms and video meetings. This allows training to be delivered, feelings of isolation to be reduced and wellbeing to be improved.

One participant said of the project: “I’m an absolute beginner to stand-up but know I am going to be a better person after this course.”

We’re so pleased to see such a boost of positivity being offered to veterans and can’t wait to hear more about their development and that final performance!

Click to hear Laurence and his colleague, Clinical Director Susan McCormack, chat with BFBS Radio’s Jess Bracey about the work they’ve been doing.

Find out more

Find out more about the Forces Communities Together programme and the great work it supported, here.