Our Impact
ACCT UK supports young people and volunteers in the ACF to develop and achieve.
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ACCT UK supports young people and volunteers in the ACF to develop and achieve.
Funding from ACCT UK gives cadets the opportunity to develop the skills and confidence that will inspire them to lead and achieve later in life. The charity works to ensure the opportunities presented by the Army Cadet Force reach the young people who need them most.
ACCT UK runs Pathways Programmes with partner youth charities or organisations. The aim of the programme is to give hard-to-reach young people a taste of the opportunities available in the Army Cadet Force and direct them towards their local uniformed youth group.
Research highlights that participation in Army Cadets helps young people to achieve higher outcomes in health, education and future employment. The impact is the most pronounced in disadvantaged youth. Pathways programmes ensure the opportunities presented by the Army Cadet Force reach the young people who need them most.
“The Friday started with six excited but apprehensive young people who had never met before, unsure of their surroundings and what lay ahead. The two days ended with six friends leaving with newfound knowledge and confidence.”
Pathways Programme Feedback, Women’s Aid Scotland
We support Army Cadet Force adult volunteers and young people to study towards leadership qualifications through CVC. The qualifications are highly valued by employers, educational institutions and within the Army Cadet Force ranks. They are particularly useful for those CFAVs and young people with no prior vocational training.
“The qualifications and awards that CFAVs have gained are estimated as providing the current cohort with potential lifetime earnings increases of £15.58 million.”
Northampton University, Institute for Social Innovation and Impact
ACCT UK’s Matthew Bacon Bursary supports young people who need to make a step-change in life or lack the confidence to develop and achieve through the ACF. The bursary has transformed the lives of over 60 teenage Army Cadets who have all reached new milestones through participating in the Outward Bound Trust (OBT) 14 day ‘summit’ adventure challenge.
“2 weeks with Outward Bound has been the best thing I’ve ever done. I met so many people there from all over the world. Whilst on the course I learned lots of new skills and even decided to go into the outdoor industry – I’m now studying Adventure Sports at college. I was great and this simply would never have been possible without the Matthew Bacon Bursary.”
Jacqueline, Glasgow and Lanarkshire Battalion ACF
ACCT UK in partnership with Care First offers 24/7 support to ACF adult volunteers and their immediate families.
All Cadet Force Adult Volunteers receive a card with the login details and phone contact for the Care First support team. The phone line, online chat and online resources are there to support all adult volunteers in looking after their mental health.
As the ACF’s charity, it’s our duty to ensure that volunteers can access both the training and support they need to thrive in their ACF role, as well as in their professional and personal lives.
“After a trial in Scotland we are confident that Care First services will be of immense benefit to all volunteers in the ACF across the UK. 80% of CFAVs in Scotland who contacted Care First were referred for face-to-face counselling.”
ACCT UK recognises the contributions of ACF cadets & adult volunteers through internal and external national award nominations and events.
Each year the charity organises an Excellence Awards ceremony, inviting VIPs and category award winners who have achieved excellence across the areas of DofE, Sport, Music, First Aid and Community Service.
Cadets and Adult Volunteers are constantly going above and beyond within their communities and the ACCT UK awards manager strives to bring those to light with nominations for national awards. In recent times ACCT UK has made a significant impact on the wider world of national medallic recognition.
Click below to view images from events:
In 2013, ACCT UK allocated £5,000 worth of grant funding for every ACF County to commemorate the Centenary of the First World War. Between 2014 – 2018 we awarded over £151,000 to 35 ACF Counties towards Battlefield Study activities alone.
We supported over 1,500 Army Cadets to participate in Battlefield Tours as part of First World War remembrance commemorations providing important life lessons for young people and continue to support tours now. The tours have a significant impact in deepening young people’s education and understanding of the First World War and other wars.
“After seeing all the names on Thiepval Memorial of all the brave soldiers whose bodies were never recovered, it really made us realise how lucky we are to live the way we do nowadays as free people.”
Molly, Essex ACF
ACCT UK supports the Army Cadet Force programme to go beyond the green syllabus of fieldcraft. We encourage and support a range of activities through charitable grants and employ staff to help deliver the programmes.
ACCT UK Staff oversee and promote the ACF’s non-military programmes including the Duke of Edinburgh’s award, Music, Sport, and First Aid.
Meet the teamACCT UK supports ACF counties with the cost to purchase equipment that supports their non-military programmes, such as tents, kayaks, mountain bikes musical instruments, and more.
View Cadet StoriesACCT UK supports ACF counties with funding that lowers the overall participating cost of adventure training and trips for both cadets and volunteers.
View Cadet Stories
18 August 2021
18 August 2021
18 August 2021
18 August 2021
14 September 2021
27 October 2021
11 November 2021
27 April 2022
10 June 2022
23 June 2022
