About Us
Our Story / Why we do this
At The Rising Sun Charitable Trust, we could not be more passionate about or committed to, helping families of our fallen soldiers and helping soldiers and their families struggling with PTSD.
In early 2021, our founding Directors, Neil Trigwell and Chris Suttie came together with a common purpose. They shared a dedication to giving back and showing gratitude to those service men, women and their families, who desperately need our help.
The Committee of Management for The Rising Sun Charitable Trust has been established under the auspices of The Rising Sun Charitable Trust’s Deed/Constitution. Founding members of the Committee are:
Neil Trigwell
7 year Army Veteran from 1 RAR and 5/6 RVR; In recognition of his distinguished service to our country, Neil has been awarded the following:
- ICB – Infantry Combat Badge
- Australian Active Service Medal
- Afghanistan Campaign Medal
- Australian Service Medal – Solomon Islands II
- Australian Defence Medal
- NATO/ISAF Medal
Chris Suttie
Management Consultant; Owner of Pinnacle HJWP Pty Ltd, established in 2012, as a management consulting firm specialising in provision of technical, strategic, risk and commercial advisory services to the Infrastructure sector; Honours Degree in Engineering for Monash University (1996); MBA from Monash University and University of Illinois (2003)
For families of soldiers Killed In Action and soldiers and families severely affected by PTSD, benefits provided by Government and other organisations, are very often not enough and/or are not provided in a timely manner, leaving soldiers and families unable to provide for the “essentials” of day to day living, including ensuring that soldiers and their families can access the health/medical care they need, when they need it, without worrying about their ability to put food on the table.
More than 26,000 Australian soldiers served in Afghanistan on Operation Slipper (2001-2014). For them and their families, this was a time of joy and grief, pride and loss. In more than a decade of operations, 41 Australian Army soldiers died in Afghanistan. Many more were wounded, some physically and others mentally.
The Australian Government Department of Defence estimates that approximately 8.3% of ADF members will have experienced PTSD in the last 12 months (2020/2021), which is significantly higher than in the Australian community (5.2%). In particular, ADF males report a greater rate of PTSD compared with the general community (8.1% versus 4.6%).
41 families left without a mother/father/brother/sister/son/daughter………. The abovementioned PTSD numbers equate to 1000’s of soldiers impacted by PTSD, with many of these at the severe and highly debilitating end of the spectrum.
The Rising Sun Charitable Trust exists to provide as much financial help to these soldiers and families as possible, ensuring that they can provide the essentials of every day life.
