'Every penny donated is valued': Ellesmere Poppy Appeal sets fundraising record for third year running
The Royal British Legion’s Ellesmere and District branch is celebrating another record-breaking Poppy Appeal having collected nearly £17,000.
More than £16,755 was collected in the run-up to Remembrance Sunday last month - the highest amount ever raised by the branch to help meet the special needs of military veterans and their families.
The amount was almost £600 more than the total donations in the whole of the appeal's last financial year, which ended in September.
Appeal organiser Caroline Ford said: “It’s absolutely awesome. This is the third year running that we’ve smashed the previous year’s record. It’s so heart-warming and humbling that a small, rural community like ours can give so much and we’re extremely grateful to everyone who supported the appeal for their kind generosity."
More than half the the total, £8,659, was collected at Tesco’s Ellesmere supermarket, where a team of nearly 40 volunteers spent almost three weeks looking after a stall offering traditional poppies, metal badges and related merchandise.
A further £4,365 was collected in more than 40 donation boxes placed in local shops, pubs, schools, churches and other locations around the area.
The traditional Poppy Appeal concert at the town’s Comrades Club on the eve of Remembrance Sunday brought in more than £1,200.
A further £500 was raised in street collections by Ellesmere’s Army Cadets, while customers at the Mere Motors filling station donated more than £1,000.
Legion branch chairman Bob McBride said: “It’s a fantastic achievement to reach another record total in such a short time. We recognise that these are challenging times and we deeply appreciate the unselfish response we’ve had throughout the area. Every penny donated is a much-valued contribution to the Legion’s vital work in providing ongoing care and support to those whose lives have been affected by serving our country in the armed forces.
“We’re sincerely grateful to Tesco and the many other businesses and organisation who’ve assisted us with the appeal and we also wish to say a big thank you to our team of volunteers for their unstinting efforts to make this year’s fundraising such a great success."
