[caption id="attachment_12103" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Inaam Tahir (Left) and Steve McGregor (Right)"]
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Kit 4 Troops was created to provide friends, family and the wider a public with a way of thanking individual soldiers by sending them the practical gifts they request and messages of encouragement. The items requested range from gifts that soldiers can use in their downtime to those that remind them of home. Soldiers and their families have told us this is exactly what they want and that is what Kit 4 Troops will do.
Kit 4 Troops was founded by Steve McGregor and Inaam Tahir, both post-graduate students at University College London. The idea for the initiative was first tested during the 2010 London Entrepreneurs' Challenge where they received a small grant which was used to develop the website.
Steve McGregor, a combat wounded veteran of the Iraq War who served as an infantry Captain in the Rakkasans during a fourteen month deployment to Yusufiya, Iraq. He is a member of the Bricklane Writers' Group and Crossfit Central London.
Inaam Tahir works for a forensic accountancy firm in the City. As a Brit and a Londoner, he wanted to utilise his business experience and communication skills to help serve the community.
All donations received are used to purchase equipment for the troops. Everyone involved in the company currently volunteer their time and currently draw no salary from their work.
So far, the charity has been able to send 74 items to troops serving in Afghanistan and have raised several thousand pounds to this end, helping troops from the Irish Guards, 5 Rifles, 3 Mercian and the Royal and Mechanical Engineers to name but a few.
Since the launch of the website on the 5th August 2010, over 30 members of the general public have been able to support specific troops during their time away from home, helping and supporting military families – enabling troops to select flowers for their spouse or loved one at home. All of this in their first operational year as a charity.
The charity hopes to continue to raise more awareness with the general public and bring a number of one-off donations to the charity in the second year of operation.
