Prince George, B.C. – A group dedicated to helping out wounded veterans has opened shop in Prince George.

The Pilgrim Bandits were established in 2007 in the UK by a small group of retired special forces members, and has now expanded to several countries around the globe.

Craig McCulloch is the director of operations for the Prince George chapter, which formed this January.

“It’s helping them (veterans) re-engage with a healthy lifestyle, not only the physical aspect but also the social aspect of being part of a team and challenging themselves and overcoming those challenges with similar like-minded people.”

He says one example of the work they do involved helping move local veteran Darren Aulenback, who was badly injured when the vehicle he was in was either hit by or hit an IED (improvised explosive device) in Afghanistan.

“It blew up and threw him quite a distance,” says McCulloch. “He sustained pretty significant injuries to his back and legs and it’s really limited his mobility in his civilian life, so he walks with a cane and on a bad day he’s wheelchair bound.”

He says with the help of 17 volunteers from the Rocky Mountain Rangers and a donated moving truck (Budget), they were able to move Darren, his wife and five kids to a more mobile friendly home in Beaverly earlier this month.

McCulloch says their next project will be the Mud Sweat and Tears adventure race series in June which he hopes will include the participation of another local veteran, Paul Franklin.

“Who was a master Corporal medic in Afghanistan and lost both of his legs in another IED blast.”

Looking ahead, he says the Pilgrim Bandits are actively searching for veterans to help and sponsors to help them with their work.

McCulloch says they have an account set up at all Integris Credit Unions (under the Pilgrim Bandits Canada name).

He says proceeds go completely to their operational funds. For more information check out their Facebook page by clicking here or their website: http://pilgrimbandits.org/.