As we enter our fourth year of supporting the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF) with our Steel Soldiers Campaign, we’ve been finding out how our fundraising is directly making a difference to soldiers and their families.
Lee Harris-Hamer entered the armed forces as a boy at age 17. He was medically discharged in 2016 following a non-operational injury and subsequently catapulted into a world he didn’t know or understand with the added pressure of a wife and child to support.
Through the help of the ABF, and his own deep-rooted tenacity and dedication, Lee has completely transformed his life and is now the proud owner of multi-million-pound business, White Horse Laundry Services.
Here he shares his inspirational story
I really owe my life to the Army Benevolent Fund; it rescued me at a time in my life where I was at a complete loss. Being in the army was the only life I knew, so being pulled out at age 25 was bewildering – I didn’t have a clue how to exist in the real world and it led to me having a breakdown.
The ABF rescued me and gave me support. They began by teaching me how to be self-employed which led to me starting my own carpet cleaning business. It felt like a good option as it didn’t require years of training – it was something I could do straight away, and I had a family to feed and a house to pay for – I needed to earn money.
The fund gave me a £6,000 grant which enabled me to buy everything I needed to get going. They also provided me with specialist training where I learnt about carpet fibres and the science behind how carpet is put together. They also supported me with how to create a business plan and marketing – the whole package.
In those days, I also got an evening job as a Social Educator at a private school, teaching boys with Aspergers and Autism basic life skills like how to cook, establish a routine and go to Tesco’s – things we all take for granted. I was working 7am-2pm on the carpets and then 2pm – 7pm at the school, it was an exhausting time.
Things collided for a second time. The carpet business didn’t quite take off and my mental health was suffering. This led to another breakdown and the realisation that I wasn’t best placed to help vulnerable children when I was suffering so much myself. I needed money, so on a whim I helped a friend clean their house when they were moving. A week later, his mum asked me to clean her house because I’d done such a good job – I didn’t intend to be a cleaner, but it appeared I was rather good at it!
Things ricocheted quite quickly and before I knew it, I was cleaning full time – having to say no to jobs because there weren’t enough hours in the day. My mum’s friend who was retired began to help me and it wasn’t long before I needed to employ people. Fast forward to today and I now employ 60 people and look after 200 clients. I’ve launched my second business – White Horse Laundry service, where we provide commercial laundry services for hotels and B&B’s.
Thanks to the training I received through the ABF I’m able to do this – I didn’t have a clue what a risk assessment was or a VAT return – I had to learn it all.
A mission to help others
I know how lucky I am, and I can’t quite believe how things have worked out. I love people and I want to spread kindness. Doing things for others costs nothing, yet the ripple effect it can have is huge. I’m now in a position where I can provide 60 people with a job – putting food on the table for their families. That to me is amazing. I got help at my lowest point and if I can go on to help others then it makes the world a better place. I know I can’t change the world, but I can do the best that I can. I make sure my business is for the people – nobody that works here is a number. Everyone is upskilled if they want to be and I’m currently working out a system that promotes recognition through the company.
I know how difficult life can be and so I’ll spend the rest of mine doing what I can to help others. Anyone who supports the Army Benevolent Fund is changing people’s lives for the better – I’m living proof of that and I’m so incredibly grateful.
Visit the ACS Steel Soldiers page here to donate and order your soldier.
Article originally published on 23rd October 2024