Poppy Appeal 2023-24

Up to 30 September 2024 the Poppy Appeal raised £51.4 million - an increase of £1.1 million over the previous year. These funds were used to transform lives as follows:-

• Case worker support: we’ve helped over 22,000 people through welfare difficulties.
• Later life care: offering aid, companionship and dignity to 781 residents in our care homes.
• Support independence: £2.3m spent on mobility needs.
• Securing essentials like food and clothing: £1.5m spent in urgent grants.
• Promoting Recovery through the Arts: over 300 participants on this programme.
• Alleviating financial difficulty: £4.7m in debt relief secured.
• Providing grants to those in need: since October 2023, we’ve given 22,682 grants, distributing £12.3m to the Armed Forces community.

Poppy Appeal 2024-2025

This year the appeal was again very well supported by our intrepid army of volunteers, and local shops and businesses in and around Shaftesbury and the surrounding villages. The appeal financial year ends on 30 September.

The branch issued 196 collection tins and poppy boxes in October 2024, all of which have been collected, the donations counted and the summary sent well on time. Our current total is £20,045 which has surpassed our annual target of more than £20,000. This total includes £496 for bingo sessions and £386 for the Christmas Raffle. Funds received during the Poppy Appeal fortnight and since have comprised 20% in cheques, 45% in notes and 35% in coin. Since our Legion Hall was inaugurated in May 1994 the branch has contributed considerably more than half a million pounds to the Poppy Appeal.

We were encouraged to place boxes, collecting tins and a converted milk churn in Tesco superstore, from where we collected and banked a total of more than £2,000 from the store itself and the adjacent petrol station.

Seventeen shops kindly exhibited a Remembrance-themed display in their windows in a remarkable show of support throughout and beyond the High Street.

We also issued 62 wreaths for Remembrance, including many to the twelve surrounding villages.

Poppy Appeal 2025-26

We issued over 200 poppy boxes and collecting tins this year, and fully manned three static collecting points in the town - Tesco Superstore, the Town Hall and the Post Office.  Wreath issues so far are 63.

At December 2025 collections have totaled £16,405, with more to come in.  We stand to make our annual target of £20,000+ by the end of the year.

Poppy Volunteers

There is always a need for more Poppy Appeal collectors, who do not need to be Legion members; if you wish to volunteer please contact (01747) 854765, or come to a coffee morning in the Legion Hall on Thursdays between 9am and 11:30am.

Legion Welfare

The Legion Services Contact Centre - 0800 802 80 80 – is open 7 days a week 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. for members with general queries and welfare issues as the first point of contact for RBL.    Members Helpline: 0800 307 7773 - is for issues with payments, renewals, joining and any other membership queries. Enquirers are recommended to ring later in the day, as the lines become overwhelmed earlier. If you are a local serving or ex-Serviceman or Servicewoman or eligible dependant who needs help of any kind, or you know of someone else who does, please ring the General Helpline.  Advice from the Legion helpline can include:

• Physical and Mental Wellbeing
• Financial Support, including advice from a specialist team on benefits, debt and money matters
• Employment
• Housing
• Independent Living
• Social Support

There is a well organised system of professional help for each of these topics for our beneficiaries. It is estimated that up to 6.7 million people fall into the category of a beneficiary - summarised as those serving or who have served in the Armed Forces, their eligible dependants and carers.  Strict confidentiality is always assured.

In Dorset county the average age of those assisted covering all categories is 60 years old - a decrease of 5 years from 65 years in 2019.  The main categories of need in terms of percentage of funds spent are:

Mobility                   35%

Housing                   19%

Household goods     11%

MAGs                      11%  (Maintenance Annuity Grants)

Debt                         10%

Funerals                     6%

Crisis                          5%

Miscellaneous            3%  (including training)

The Royal British Legion administers MAGs on behalf of Regimental Funds and Benevolent Charities.  These are grants awarded for regular financial assistance, designed to help beneficiaries in financial difficulty who need assistance with the cost of living.  As might be expected, the age profile of the people we support reflects the type of grant they need from us.  Our oldest beneficiaries are recipients of MAGs and mobility items, while the youngest are those who come to us in financial crisis or needing help to furnish their homes.  Current trends are increases in financial costs which reduce monetary purchasing power including: rising inflation, soaring energy costs, higher National Insurance contribution levels, salaries and pensions failing to match inflation levels, supply chain difficulties, surging demand, higher production and transport costs, reductions in relief funding, and higher taxes.

The Veterans’ Gateway can be contacted by calling 0808 802 1212 or texting 81212. There is also email and chat available via the Veterans’ Gateway website https://www.veteransgateway.org.uk.  Veterans’ Gateway covers information, advice and support for veterans and their families 24/7, for all welfare needs. From healthcare and housing to employability, and more. Veterans should get in touch, and the Veterans Gateway will refer them to the correct expert who can help.