‘Every poppy counts’ for Royal British Legion’s annual appeal 2021

After missing out on almost all face-to-face Poppy Appeal collections last year due to the Covid pandemic, “every poppy counts” is the strong message from the organisers as the 2021 appeal launches today (October 28).
By Mark Rainey
Published 28th Oct 2021, 00:01 BST
Helping to launch the Appeal in Northern Ireland are Helen Heaney (74), her daughter Jackie Heaney (44), granddaughter and grandson Holly (19) and Aaron Adair (13) – three generations of poppy collectors from the same Co. Antrim family.Helping to launch the Appeal in Northern Ireland are Helen Heaney (74), her daughter Jackie Heaney (44), granddaughter and grandson Holly (19) and Aaron Adair (13) – three generations of poppy collectors from the same Co. Antrim family.
Helping to launch the Appeal in Northern Ireland are Helen Heaney (74), her daughter Jackie Heaney (44), granddaughter and grandson Holly (19) and Aaron Adair (13) – three generations of poppy collectors from the same Co. Antrim family.

The Royal British Legion (RBL) has mobilised an army of 40,000 volunteers as the charity marks its centenary year – including three generations of the same family from Bushmills in Co Antrim.

Helen Heaney, 74, has been volunteering for the Poppy Appeal for 20 years and has been the appeal organiser for the RBL Bushmills branch for the past 15 years.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Daughter Jackie, 44, first started supporting the Poppy Appeal by going out collecting along with her mum and dad.

Holly, 19, and Aaron (13) are now also following in the family footsteps.

Holly is already an RBL member and Aaron hopes to be some day too. At just 13-years-old, he has already been collecting for the appeal for almost eight years.

Kate Green, RBL Ireland area manager, said “This year, as we mark our centenary, we are proud to be celebrating the outstanding contribution of all our Poppy Appeal collectors.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Every poppy counts, which is why getting our Poppy Appeal collectors back out in local communities is so important. As the impact of Covid-19 continues to leave some members of the Armed Forces community in urgent need of our help, your support is as crucial as ever.

“We cannot help them without you which is why we are urging the public to look out for their local collector and donate. Your contribution will make a real difference to the lives of those in our Armed Forces community who have given so much.”

Ms Green added: “The RBL was formed in the aftermath of the First World War to fight for the rights of those who had given so much and come back to so little. Today, we continue to stand with the Armed Forces community, supporting them in the face of hardships, injuries and bereavements.”

Money raised by the RBL helps veterans and their families in many ways, including providing crisis grants, sport and art-based recovery programmes, specialist dementia care, and support with benefit and money issues.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Helen Heaney said she became a volunteer because “it’s our duty to support all those who put their lives on the line for our freedom and that of future generations” and added: “It means even more to me now that I’ve visited quite a few of the wartime battlefields, such as the Somme, and have witnessed the young ages of all the men and women lying in those cemeteries.

“I do it because it’s important to remember all those who didn’t make it back... but also to help those who did return but haven’t found it easy”.

On being a poppy collector, Holly Adair said: “I think every poppy counts, because the poppies we wear help us to remember the fallen men and women who gave their lives so that we could live freely.”

Aaron agrees: “To me, every poppy counts because the money raised by the Poppy Appeal helps to support all those who fought for our country, and who are in need of our help today.”

The Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal runs until November 13.

Related topics:Royal British LegionMoney