Press Release
Jack Duckworth from Coronation Street tells British public - Your Poppy Needs You
The Royal British Legion is seeking more volunteers to help raise vital funds
for the Poppy Appeal
Today actor Bill Tarmey, who plays Jack Duckworth in ‘Coronation Street’, launched The Royal British Legion’s 2005 national Poppy People campaign, which aims to encourage a new generation of volunteers to give just two hours of their time to collect for the Poppy Appeal. A single collector is able to collect up to £100 in just two hours, so new recruits are a vital source of much-needed funds for the Legion’s essential welfare work among those who have served and are currently serving in our Armed Forces.
New collectors are needed because there simply aren’t enough Poppy sellers on the streets to meet demand. Last year an estimated 35 million poppies were sold during the two weeks leading up to Remembrance Sunday.
Bill Tarmey, a long-standing supporter of The Royal British Legion, urged people to give up some of their free time to support this worthwhile cause. “Today I’m joining the Legion to ask everyone – both young and old - to give up just two hours of their time to support the Poppy Appeal. The money collected in that short time can make a very real difference to people’s lives and volunteering can be great fun too. In short the message I have for the British public is ‘Your Poppy Needs You’.”
The Poppy Appeal is the Legion’s principle source of welfare funds; used to provide financial, social and emotional support to those who have served, and are currently serving in our Armed Forces, and their dependants.
Last year the £23.5 million raised by the Poppy Appeal helped the Legion to:
- answer over 300,000 calls for assistance
- train 5,000 welfare caseworkers to advise and support members of the serving and ex-Service community
- give 4,200 ex-Service people respite in Legion welfare break centres
- represent 3,900 pensions appeal cases at tribunal
- look after 420 people in Legion care homes
- provide start-up funding for 70 new businesses, helping nearly 3,000 people find work
- campaign for War Pensions Disregards, Noise-Induced Hearing Loss and a public enquiry into Gulf war-related illnesses
Russell Thompson, Director of Fundraising and Marketing for the Legion said, “The Poppy is a vital part of our heritage, helping us to remember the price of the freedom we enjoy today. Street collecting can be a very fun and rewarding experience, particularly if carried out with friends or family, and demands surprisingly little commitment. Our existing collectors try to keep up with demand each year, but frankly we need more people to come forward and volunteer. Please help us to keep the Poppy alive.”
To find out more about volunteering in your area call free on 0800 085 5924 or email poppypeople@britishlegion.org.uk.
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