Shropshire poppy sellers aiming to raise £555,000
Poppy sellers in Shropshire are hoping to raise £555,000 from this year's Remembrance appeal.
Service personnel past and present attended the launch of the 2019 poppy appeal at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt orthopaedic hospital in Gobowen, near Oswestry.
Among them were Staff Sgt Becky Warren, an army reservist who also holds a senior nursing post at the hospital, and Sgt Scott Hill, the Royal British Legion's military ambassador and who also serves at RAF Shawbury.
The hospital has close ties with the military through its veterans' orthopaedic service.
Sarah Kerr, armed forces support co-ordinator at Shropshire Council, said the theme of this year's appeal was to raise the profile of some of the unseen work that the armed forces perform.
“Each day our Armed Forces provide an incredible service to our country in all kinds of ways, many of which we don’t necessarily see, but all of which impact our lives," she said.
"The unseen sacrifices they make on our behalf deserve to be recognised so wear your poppy with pride and show your support for our armed forces community, past and present.
Contributions
“Every donation received will make a real difference not only to the lives of service men and women and veterans, but to their families as well who can also experience difficulties dealing with the circumstances of a loved one who is serving.”
Money raised from the appeal will enable the legion to continue delivering support to service personnel past and present and their families through hardships, injuries and bereavements.
This includes crisis grants, sport- and art-based recovery programmes, specialist dementia care, lobbying the Government and providing advice and support with benefits and money issues.
Royal British Legion community fundraiser Jenny Robey said: “During the poppy appeal this year we want to raise awareness of the less well known work our Armed Forces do, and the unseen sacrifices and hidden contributions they make that many of us simply don’t get to see.
“From combatting piracy and providing support during natural disasters, to working in collaboration with organisations such as the police to keep the nation safe, our armed forces are supporting us daily in a huge variety of ways."
Craig Macbeth, deputy chief of the hospital, said it valued its armed forces staff and patients.
"We run a thriving veterans’ orthopaedic service and also launched a £1.5 million fundraising appeal for the UK’s first veterans’ centre,” he said.
