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The 2007 Poppy Appeal comes at a crucial time for The Royal British Legion. This year once again, events in Iraq and Afghanistan have shown us the very high human cost of conflict, and it is clear that that the work of The Royal British Legion is needed now more than ever. It is just weeks since we launched our Honour the Covenant campaign, lobbying for improved conditions for the Service community and it is clear that there is much still to be done to achieve this.
Our annual Poppy Appeal is the Legion’s major fundraising campaign and our aim this year is to raise an unprecedented £27.5 million allowing us to continue the work that means so much to the thousands of serving and ex-Service people and their families who approach The Royal British Legion every year for help.
Last year the Appeal raised a record total of £26 million and yet this only accounts for a third of the £75.5 million required to carry out the Legion’s work. Much of this money goes to fund Poppy Support, the Legion’s range of welfare services set up to support those who have served and continue to serve in the British Armed Forces. This year we have added new Poppy Support services to increase the range and breadth of ways in which are able to support the ex-Service community.
It’s not just older people who benefit from Poppy Support. The Legion helps people of all ages, providing financial, social and emotional help to all those who have been affected by conflict and increasingly we see younger people coming to us for help. Beneficiaries range from children to widows, from single mothers to pensioners, in fact anyone who finds themselves in need. Some 10.5 million people – that’s one in six of the UK population - are eligible to approach us for help.
The 2007 Poppy Appeal campaign highlights the following stark facts about those in need of assistance from The Royal British Legion.
- 900,000 ex-Service people with a disability
- 180,000 ex-Service people without visitors
- 40,000 families who need our support
- Over the last year the number of beneficiaries of our work aged 35 or under has increased by 30%. This strongly points to a growing need for our services among younger serving and ex-Service people
- With British Service people on active duty in Afghanistan and Iraq and in many other parts of the world, a large proportion of whom are currently under 30, the Legion’s role of safeguarding the welfare and interests of serving and ex-Service people will be needed for many years to come.
- More than 16,000 British Service men and women have been killed or injured on active service since 1945 in conflicts up to the present day, including Bosnia, the Falklands, Afghanistan and Iraq.
Show your Support
http://www.poppy.org.uk/content/Show...ort-1104.shtml
