Charity gives 60 teddy bears to Peterborough military children at RAF Wittering this Christmas

Sixty Armed Forces families from RAF Wittering, who will have a serving person deployed overseas this Christmas, will receive a free teddy bear from the charity Little Troopers.

The military children’s charity has partnered with the Build-A-Bear Foundation to distribute more than 2,200 free teddy bears to military families across the UK as part of its Christmas Smiles campaign, to bring smiles to the faces of military children over the holidays.

Wing Commander Nikki Duncan, officer commanding support at RAF Wittering, said: “Many of our personnel are deployed on operations away from their families during the festive season which can be particularly difficult for children. This is a fantastic initiative by Little Troopers and it is wonderful to see these teddy bears bring a smile to our children’s faces.”

Louise Fetigan, founder of Little Troopers, added: “It’s always hard for children to have a parent serving away from home but it can be especially hard at Christmas. That’s why our annual Christmas Smiles campaign is so important as it brings smiles to the faces of military children who are missing their parent at this important time of year.

“Thanks to the Build-A-Bear Foundation we’ve been able to send a special bear hug to thousands of military children who are missing their parent this Christmas. It’s our reminder them that our charity is thinking about them and understands what they are going through when they are feeling lonely or sad.”

The teddy bears are just one of many things that Little Troopers is doing to support military children this Christmas.

The charity has organised free cinema screenings and online events including a Santa show, elf workshops and a Christmas bake-a-long.

The charity also has lots of year-round resources that parents and schools can tap into to help support military children including its All Together deployment club, military teen podcast and Therapy Programme.

Little Troopers is a charity supporting service children who have a parent serving in the British Armed Forces, regular or reserve who often face unique challenges including frequent house and school moves, as well as regular periods of separation from their serving parent.