Petersfield Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal 2022 raised almost £30,000 to help serving and retired armed forces personnel and their families.
Organised in Petersfield by British Legion member and armed forces veteran Daz Hare, it ran from Thursday, October 27, to Remembrance Sunday, November 13.
The British Legion standard bearer said: “We have almost finished counting, and the total to date is £29,227.32.
“On behalf of the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, I would like to thank the generous people of Petersfield and surrounding villages for their donations once again.
“I would also like to thank the volunteers who give their time, standing outside in all weathers.
“And this amount couldn’t have been achieved without the support and time of the volunteer collectors and the poppy distributors in the villages.
“After the Petersfield Remembrance Sunday Parade our collection buckets held £1,291.32.
“And it’s always humbling when we count the money donated by school children – a thank you to the schools for teaching the pupils about remembrance.”
The Poppy Appeal relies solely on volunteers to raise money through collecting donations for paper poppies and related Remembrance items.
And for the 2022 appeal in Petersfield there were calls for more help, as many of the current collectors are older retired servicemen and their wives.
The Poppy Appeal is the British Legion’s biggest fundraiser of the year and in 2019, £36,500 was raised in Petersfield.
In 2020 it was cancelled because of Covid, but last year, despite many of the older collectors still isolating because of the pandemic, £29,500 was raised.
To volunteer for next year’s Poppy Appeal in Petersfield, email David Lloyd at [email protected] or call him on 01730 260030.