News

Army Benevolent Fund makes £30,000 award to lifts project

A generous grant of £30,000 from the Army Benevolent Fund has helped towards the cost of replacing two lifts at Scottish Veterans Residences’ Edinburgh site, Whitefoord House.

The lifts were approaching the end of their useful life and were becoming more prone to breakdown which causes additional expense to SVR and inconvenience to residents.  

Renewing the lifts will mean that our Veterans – some who experience mobility issues - will have a more reliable means of getting to their rooms, some of which are up four flights of stairs.  Work began on replacing the first lift at Whitefoord House on 26 August, with the second lift in the adjacent Gloucester Court building due to be installed from 14 October.

George Corbett, SVR’s Deputy CEO and Property Services Manager, said: “The new lifts will provide improved reliability for the residents, reduced inconvenience and reduced reactive maintenance costs.  It will also mean that all three lifts on the site are new or nearly new, as our Pelham Burn lift was completed in 2022, so the site is well catered for in terms of modern, efficient lifts. SVR are extremely grateful to the Army Benevolent Fund for their generous support.”

Established in 1944, the Army Benevolent Fund is the Army’s national charity. For 80 years, the ABF has supported soldiers, past and present, and their families through all of life’s challenges - from helping wounded soldiers to adapt to life after service, to assisting elderly veterans to keep their independence and much more besides. 

The Army Benevolent Fund offers support in six key areas: independent living, elderly care, education and employability, mental wellbeing, families and housing, through its funding for individuals in need and grants to organisations such as SVR. Last year, the ABF’s support reached over 75,000 members of the Army family  of all ages, in 51 countries.

Peter Monteith, Director of Operations at the Army Benevolent Fund, said: “Scottish Veterans Residences has been housing veterans in need for over 100 years and we are proud to work with them. We are delighted to support these essential improvements to the charity’s Edinburgh site, where it provides comfortable and accessible homes for veterans with special health and mobility needs.”