For many years a small army of Canterbury Rotarians armed only with a collection box and an assortment of poppies, descend upon the High Street in Canterbury to raise money for the Royal British Legion for its “Poppy Appeal”. (In 2019 our Club was honoured with a Community Award from the Legion for our support, having helped to raise well over £36,000 in donations over the years via our street collection in Canterbury.)
Sadly, things will be different this year because of the current restrictions on activities due to Covid-19. As a result, many of our Members will be writing personal cheques out for the organisation instead. Past President David Barton, who was once a TA (Territorial Army) Lieutenant in the West Yorkshire Regiment, is one of our Members that is doing so.
Referring to our support for the Poppy Appeal, President Elect Stephen Thompson, who has overseen our Club’s relationship with the British Legion for a number of years, said “It’s a great pity that the Legion will not be able to have street collections as usual this year due to Covid-19; nevertheless, our Club continues to support the Appeal and we really hope that we can encourage the public to donate direct to the Legion instead.”
We encourage members of the public who wish to support the Legion to do so via their website here.
You can also help the Legion in other ways – like distributing poppies to friends and neighbours. Find out more here.
The Legion is also asking the nation to raise funds for the Poppy Appeal inspired by the number 11. You can find out more about this initiative on the Legion’s website, here.
Picture: For several years our members have helped the Poppy Appeal street collection, but this year we are encouraging people to donate via the Legion’s website instead. Picture credit: Martin Ward/Rotary Club of Canterbury.
