Iraq war veteran inspires Carmarthenshire pupils
Scores of Carmarthenshire secondary pupils have been inspired by severely injured Iraq war veteran Phil Packer.
The founder of the British Inspirational Trust (BRIT), which aims to support young people facing adversity, 40-year-old Packer was once told he would never walk again, something he was never prepared top accept.
More than 100 Queen Elizabeth High School pupils listened to his inspirational talk before going on a walkabout with him as part of his UK-wide campaign – BRIT 2012.
Mr Packer, MBE, is a former British Provost Officer who suffered severe spinal cord injuries whilst on active service in Iraq in February 2008. Despite being told at the time that he would never walk again, he has since undertaken a number of physical challenges for charity, including walking the London Marathon in 2009 over 14 days. His fundraising efforts have raised well over a million pounds, gaining national media attention and several national awards. Packer has since founded the British Inspiration Trust, which aims to support young people facing adversity.
The BRIT campaign has an unprecedented list of supporters that includes Prime Minister David Cameron, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Richard Branson, Sharron Davies, Ade Adipitan, Jonathan Edwards, Sally Gunell, Gabby Logan and many more.
Carmarthenshire County Council’s 5x60 Officers have been working on their own inspirational walking project ‘Reach for the Summit’ for the last two years. This led to the council’s county 5x60 manager, Carl Daniels, securing the visit after seeing that Phil Packer was coming to the area on social media platform ‘Twitter’.
He said: “After seeing Phil’s Tweet about coming to every local authority in Wales I looked at his website to find out about the BRIT 2012 campaign.
“His aims of supporting young people facing adversity fit perfectly with what we’ve tried to do with ‘Reach for the Summit.’ Our 5x60 officers have engaged pupils with special educational needs and disabilities in a programme of walks and health talks, exposing them to opportunities they are unlikely to get otherwise and therefore developing their self-esteem among the many other benefits.”
Ysgol Dyffyn Aman 5x60 Officer Aled Parry created the project, and his first group progressed to climbing Snowdon. For some pupils it was the first time they had been outside of their town or stayed away from their parents.
Queen Elizabeth High School’s officer Hywel Thomas has since rolled the project out to their Elfed Unit, and they provided the bulk of the audience to meet Phil Packer, hear about the work he is doing and complete a mile walk with him.
The founder of the British Inspirational Trust (BRIT), which aims to support young people facing adversity, 40-year-old Packer was once told he would never walk again, something he was never prepared top accept.
More than 100 Queen Elizabeth High School pupils listened to his inspirational talk before going on a walkabout with him as part of his UK-wide campaign – BRIT 2012.
Mr Packer, MBE, is a former British Provost Officer who suffered severe spinal cord injuries whilst on active service in Iraq in February 2008. Despite being told at the time that he would never walk again, he has since undertaken a number of physical challenges for charity, including walking the London Marathon in 2009 over 14 days. His fundraising efforts have raised well over a million pounds, gaining national media attention and several national awards. Packer has since founded the British Inspiration Trust, which aims to support young people facing adversity.
The BRIT campaign has an unprecedented list of supporters that includes Prime Minister David Cameron, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Richard Branson, Sharron Davies, Ade Adipitan, Jonathan Edwards, Sally Gunell, Gabby Logan and many more.
Carmarthenshire County Council’s 5x60 Officers have been working on their own inspirational walking project ‘Reach for the Summit’ for the last two years. This led to the council’s county 5x60 manager, Carl Daniels, securing the visit after seeing that Phil Packer was coming to the area on social media platform ‘Twitter’.
He said: “After seeing Phil’s Tweet about coming to every local authority in Wales I looked at his website to find out about the BRIT 2012 campaign.
“His aims of supporting young people facing adversity fit perfectly with what we’ve tried to do with ‘Reach for the Summit.’ Our 5x60 officers have engaged pupils with special educational needs and disabilities in a programme of walks and health talks, exposing them to opportunities they are unlikely to get otherwise and therefore developing their self-esteem among the many other benefits.”
Ysgol Dyffyn Aman 5x60 Officer Aled Parry created the project, and his first group progressed to climbing Snowdon. For some pupils it was the first time they had been outside of their town or stayed away from their parents.
Queen Elizabeth High School’s officer Hywel Thomas has since rolled the project out to their Elfed Unit, and they provided the bulk of the audience to meet Phil Packer, hear about the work he is doing and complete a mile walk with him.
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