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Poppy People Needed The
Royal British Legion is looking for volunteers to co-ordinate and run its
annual Poppy Appeal in Hethersett. The
village has been without a co-ordinator since 2006 and last year poppies were
not on sale in the village. In
2006 Hethersett collected over £2,400 for the appeal. “We
still need volunteers to help in villages such as Hethersett. We are living in
troubled times and need funds to help with our work with ex servicemen and
women returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and also with our
pensioners, many of whom are living in poverty,” said Community Fund-raiser
for the Royal British Legion, Erica Sayer. “We need to recruit a new generation of volunteers as the Poppy Appeal
is as relevant today as it has always been. Volunteers are crucial to help
organise and distribute poppies, collect on streets and in shops and
workplaces and help count donations. We often hear of people who are
disappointed that they have not seen any poppies in their area as in
Hethersett last year. The only way to solve this problem is for more people to
come forward and volunteer as Poppy People. We need to hear from willing people now so that we can ensure
that we can fulfil everyone’s expectations when the appeal begins on 25th
October,” Erica added. There are over 10.5 million people eligible for Legion assistance with over a
million ex-service members of the armed living on less than £5000 per year.
One in six applications for assistance is received from ex-service men
and women under 30 highlighting the need of those returning from the conflicts
in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Royal British
Legion receives more than 300,000 requests for help every year and provides
emotional and financial welfare support for ex-service people and their
dependants. “We urgently
need more collectors than ever before to keep up with this demand and are
asking people to consider whether they have a couple of hours to assist us in
raising funds to continue our work with the ex-service and serving members of
the armed forces. At present
there are just aren’t enough Poppy People on the streets to meet the demand
for the estimated 36 million poppies distributed over the two weeks of the
appeal,” Erica Sayer added. Anyone able to help with the collection in
Hethersett can contact Erica Sayer on 01362 860667 or via e-mail at esayer@britishlegion.org.uk
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