SHIFT HAPPENS
SHIFT HAPPENS
Claudia Mahler
Why Starting A Charity Is A Good Thing with Gilly Norton
37 minutes Posted May 20, 2026 at 5:00 am.
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Show notes
Gilly Norton founded SWV (Supporting Wounded Veterans) as a Charity more then 15 years ago. Soldiers returned from frontlines and were in acute need of pain management support, mentoring, employment support. Gilly and team went to work. They raised funds and organized a Skiing Week in the Swiss mountains, in the village of Klosters. SWV started pain clinics in the UK, worked with donors, other foundations, the government to increase the funding for clinical trials on PTSD and other necessary measures.
Asked what the main challenges are: people are often declaring problems "too difficult to solve," but one needs to stick to it, be consistent, raise funds wherever possible and maintain the momentum through long development cycles.
Gilly emphasizes the "magical atmosphere" created when people unite to genuinely change someone's life—"not often in a life you get the chance".
Success requires believing in the mission and "keeping the faith" through setbacks