Volunteers step in to raise £23K for Poppy Appeal

Colleagues from Lincolnshire Co-op banded together and raised a total of £23,100 selling poppies for The Royal British Legion, despite national lockdown in November.

Like many other charities, The Legion was badly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The charity relies heavily on community engagement, so it was feared that The Poppy Appeal campaign would struggle this year.

The campaign generates approximately 50 per cent of the charity’s financial income and as 50 per cent of its usual volunteers couldn’t help due to the pandemic, the Legion reached out to communities across the nation for their support.

Before national lockdown cut support short, 47 Lincolnshire Co-op colleagues helped the charity through the Society’s employer-supported volunteering scheme. They sold paper poppies at outlets across the trading area, contributing a total of 175 hours in the run up to Armistice Day.

Lincolnshire Co-op’s Sarah Dickeson, Community Ambassador at Horncastle Food Store said: “Coming from a military family and being ex-military myself, this is a cause that’s close to my heart. As there was no parade to attend this year, I jumped at the chance to help the Poppy Appeal!

“I’m really proud of the amount we’ve managed to raise and honoured to be part of such an important campaign.”

The Royal British Legion has been a voice for the ex-service community since 1921. The money raised by the Poppy Appeal campaign funds the charity’s financial, social, and emotional support of veterans and members of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependents.

Joanne Ticehurst, Community Fundraiser Manager at The Royal British Legion said: “Things were very different for us this year as so many of our normal volunteers needed to stay at home to stay safe.

“Without volunteers, there wouldn’t be a Poppy Appeal campaign, so we were blown away by the support from Lincolnshire Co-op colleagues who gave up their time and so thankful to shoppers who bought a poppy and supported our cause.”