Hethersett a norfolk village on the web

In a special article for this web site Royal British Legion Poppy Day collector Jerry Wright discusses the 2011 appeal in Hethersett and the Meltons and looks at the future for the British Legion.

The 2011 Poppy Appeal is about standing shoulder to shoulder with our brave Armed Forces and for members of the public to provide support to help our injured Armed Forces to recover and to regain their confidence through The Royal British Legion Battle Back Centre for sports and adventure training.

The Legion has committed £50 million over ten years to pay for the creation and operation of the The Royal British Legion Battle Back Centre and to fund operating costs of the Personnel Recovery Centres.

Those serving in current conflicts can ask the Legion for support – today and for the rest of their lives. More than 16000 of those who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq have received direct financial assistance from the Legion.

The Legion has celebrated its 90^th anniversary this year and set itself a goal of raising £90 million to enable this support to be maintained. Within this overall target, the 2011 Poppy Appeal needs to raise £40 million - £4 million more than last year’s record amount of £36 million.

This year £2550 has been given to the Legion following house to house collections and static point collections in the Hethersett and Little Melton areas. In 2010 £2410 was given and in 2009 £2105 was given.

On behalf of the Legion and more importantly, on behalf of the Armed Forces personnel and their families who receive support, thank you very much to everyone who has supported the 2011 Poppy Appeal.

I would also like to send a special ‘Thank You’ to all those people who volunteered their time to complete house to house collections and also to the businesses, schools, shops and other premises where poppies and collections boxes were displayed.

If you would like to volunteer in 2012 and give a couple of hours of your time to complete a house to house collection near to where you live then please telephone me on 01603 810212 and I will give you more information.