The Poppy Appeal in Ynyshir (Rhondda) & District
In 2003, the Ynyshir Branch was at its lowest ebb with regard to Branch meetings and attendance due to the sad demise of virtually all our senior members who held Committee positions.
Such was the demise of the Branch that it was at the point of closure. However, a new Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer took on the positions on a temporary basis until permanent Officials could be found. We three are still doing the job 8 years later, and are thoroughly enjoying the challenge.
This meant of course that the Poppy Appeal could continue. The Chairman took over these temporary duties for 7 years, during which time the amount collected rose from approximately £600.00 to over £2000.00.
Unfortunately our two adjacent Branches had to close due to lack of membership and the demise of elder members, so our Branch took over the Poppy Appeal responsibilities for these areas as well as our own. This was a great strain on our Branch as virtually all our members are in receipt of free bus passes!
However, our members once again rose to the challenge for the sake of the Poppy Appeal, and provisional figures for the November 2010 appeal show approximately £4,500.00 and rising. Our sincere gratitude goes to 2 of our members in particular who collected £892.75 between them. For this tremendous effort both were presented with certificates of appreciation by our County Poppy Appeal Coordinator, and were mentioned in the latest issue of the Legion Magazine.
Our aim for 2011-2012 is to beat this sum collected.
UPDATE-POPPY APPEAL 2011-2012.
Yet again,due to the hard work of our Branch Poppy Appeal Organiser, Mrs CUTTER, and our little band of volunteers we have beaten last years figures by collecting a massive £6204.63. Everyone involved in this collection should give themselves a good pat on the back for a good job well done.
Yet again, one of our collectors, Mr Ivor PIKE excelled himself, and on his own collected a staggering £2070.92. This effort is being recognised with a presentation of a certificate of appreciation by our South Wales Area PAC and our County PAC which is to take place on Tuesday.1st.May.at our Branch.
Our sincere thanks go to the members of the public in our area for supporting us for this worthy cause. We are a small community but we are big in heart when it comes to helping those in need.
Anyone interested in helping us in the next Poppy Appeal should contact our Branch Poppy Appeal Organiser, Mrs Angela Cutter at angelacutter@sky.com