Telford pub close to raising £150,000 for Help for Heroes
It has been ten years and has resulted in nearly £150,000 of support for Help for Heroes, but a Telford pub is showing no sign of slowing down its fundraising efforts.
The Plough in King Street, Wellington, will hold its tenth Heroes Day on May 5, and will have the usual live music and activities for families to enjoy.
But it is also expected to take the total raised by the pub up from its current level of £142,602 to over the £150,000 mark.
Over the same period, the pub has collected nearly £40,000 more for other charities, as well as collecting Easter eggs and selection boxes to give out.
Landlord Ed Lowe started the effort when he first took over The Plough.
"I'm ex-army and I thought Help for Heroes needed it," he said.
"I'm proud of what we've achieved here. It's a small pub, we've got some really good people on the committee and we couldn't do it without the generosity of customers. There's some good people out there – you think it's not out there, but it is."
Each year, The Plough is full of people for Heroes Day.
This year acts will include Savannah, Caseys On Tour Girls, Wellington Brass Band and many others.
There will also be military vehicles, a charity auction, food, stalls, bouncy castles and face painting.
The annual Battle of Britain flypast will also be returning.
The event will start at 12 noon on May 5 and run until late. Entry is free.
Last year's event raised more than £17,960, and 61-year-old Ed is expecting similar success this year.
Award
"We'll certainly be over £150,000 in 10 years," he said.
"It takes 12 months to plan. We can plan it, but we can't plan the weather. Hopefully we'll get some good weather.
"They've given me 30 minutes to sing on stage as well. And I've just recorded five songs for a CD.
"We're up for anything. We have a laugh. We have a bit of fun and good things come out of it."
Over the years, the pub has been recognised for its hard work.
"We received an award from Help for Heroes for what we've done for them," Ed said. "We went to Buckingham Palace for the garden party, having dinner with Prince Harry. Things like that."
The Heroes Day comes just weeks after the completion of the pub's other big seasonal campaign.
They managed to collect 394 Easter eggs which were shared out across eight locations. They stacked up within the pub over several weeks, completely blocking one of the walls.
It was a big jump over last year when the pub collected 351 eggs.
"See the smiling faces when we hand them over is a great reward," Ed added.
"They're from regulars and people who don't even used the pub drop by to bring some eggs in. I've got my corner back now – you can actually see the wall."
Ed said he will always do his charity work.
"I'm not saying I'll give up as landlord, but I'm getting a bit old. I'll still carry on doing my charity work. I'll keep going."
For more information about the Heroes Day search for @ploughheroes on Facebook.
