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YORKSHIRE, NORTH & EAST
APRIL 2015
Poppy Conference 2015.
former brewery in Richmond. A new factory was built in
Richmond in 1933.
Ray went on to illustrate how the Poppy Appeal has
grown over the years and finished with the
announcement that the current total was standing at:-
£42,065,170 !!!
The annual Poppy Appeal conference took place
recently at Alton Towers in Staffordshire and was well
attended by new PAOs and staff from across the
country. As usual, the first day was made up of
presentations from staff and volunteers with the
emphasis on how to run a straight forward stress free
Appeal.
Ray Shepherd, Head of the Poppy Appeal took us on a
journey from the birth of the Poppy Appeal right up to
the present day.
Inspired by a WW1 poem, two ladies one French, the
other American, decided to create and sell silk poppies
to raise funds to support service men disadvantaged by
serving their country, whether by injury or
unemployment. Those silk poppies were sold for 3d
each and raised £106,000, equivalent to £4.4m today.
In the UK poppies were (and still are) made at the
Poppy Factory in Richmond, which had been opened by
Major George Howson, MC, in 1922. Howson had
formed the Disabled Society to help former servicemen
from World War One. It was Howson who suggested to
the Royal British Legion that disabled former soldiers of
the Disabled Society could make poppies that could
then be sold to the public to raise money for the British
Legion. The original poppies were simple in design so
that anyone with a disability could assemble them – the
principle remains to this day.
Howson himself was not convinced that his idea would
work. He wrote to this parents: “I do not think it can be a
great success, but it is worth trying. I consider the
attempt ought to be made if only to give the disabled
their chance.” The original Poppy Factory was based
just off the Old Kent Road and employed just 5 people.
It was funded by a grant of £2000 from the Unity Relief
Fund. However, within months the work force had
grown to 50 and in 1925 Howson moved the factory to a
Stewart Lythe [email protected] M: 07769 840904
Pictured above our County PAO delegates: Mr. Dominic Peacock,
NCA02 Beverley, and Mrs. Ruby Davison, NEB09 Northallerton.
Janet and Harry Fry, PAOs for Aldridge gave an insight
into how their appeal is run. The key to their success is
that they engage with external organisations such as
Rotary and Probus to help with deliveries and tin
collections which amount to around 800 tins on 40
rounds. Supermarkets have proved to be the biggest
earner for us and these should be the priority.
Beneficiary presentation
Day one closed with a frank account from one of our
beneficiaries, Mike Lewis, of how the RBL had helped
him following being injured on active service in
Afghanistan.
After initial treatment at Camp Bastion, he was
repatriated to Selly Oak and then on to Hedley Court.
After several months, he discharged himself to return to
his unit, only to be found medically unfit for service.
He accepted an invitation from our Cambridgeshire CFR
to give a talk about his experiences and, wanting to give
something back, Mike applied for and was offered the
position of CFR Bedfordshire. "Considering all the
support given to me by the RBL, this is my way of
saying thanks" said Mike.
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YORKSHIRE, NORTH & EAST LOCAL NEWS
The Poppy Shop was
in attendance at Alton
Towers - never one to
miss an opportunity to
raise funds, manager
Holly was there with a
table full of shiny stuff!
The Poppy Shop in a
Box will be available
for trials later this
year, please feel free
to contact me for
further details on how
you can use this for
your fundraising
events
The warehouse at Aylesford underwent a reorganisation
last year and as a result of that we have been able to
introduce a shift system that covers 08:00 - 22:00, multiskilling and cost reductions.
Delays during last year's Appeal were acknowledged
and we are promised a slicker service, better
awareness and control of stock levels and a review of
all products. In today's charity environment it is vital that
everything we offer for donation is, as Ray says, "Fit for
purpose". This review will also go a long way to improve
our Al Year Round Fundraising.
Please note that if you have any Corporate queries
regarding the Poppy Appeal, Christine is happy to help,
you can call her on 01622 795816
Holly Bannister-Hayes and Poppy Shop bling
Shaping the Future - Ray
Shepherd and Chris Cobbold
Online ordering is here…nearly!
Perhaps the most exciting revelation during Ray and
Chris' workshop was the announcement of an On-Line
system for PAOs. Set out in three distinct phases, we
are about to trial the 'internal' on-line system for PAOs
to order stock. A small trial is now underway with a view
to launching it well before the next Appeal stock
ordering starts. Anticipated launch date is mid May
2015.
I am delighted to say that Paul Darley MBE, CPAC for
N&E Yorkshire, has volunteered to take part in the trials
for us as a user and help iron out any snags and bugs in
the system. Paul's considered and pragmatic approach
will help enormously - thanks for stepping up Paul!
Phase 2 will establish a public interface and finally, in
phase 3, we will be able to manage statements, returns
and expenses electronically.
Christine and Ray unveiling the future - beam me up Aylesford……
Ray outlined a very encouraging programme which sets
out to modernise and streamline the ordering and
administration processes surrounding the Poppy Appeal
at Aylesford. The current paper based system is over 20
years old and no longer fit for purpose for today's
business. Amazingly, each Regional Administrator has
around 800 PAOs, each with their individual paper file.
As you would expect, this accounts for a huge amount
of storage and delays in retrieving historic information.
Ray added: "There needs to be more clarity on our
products along with appropriate control of stock levels.
We also need to establish two-way communication with
our volunteers using contemporary systems which will
also have a cost benefit"
Currently, Aylesford use the postal system to send
messages and updates at a significant cost per letter.
Part of the streamlining will introduce use of more email
but only where it is suitable for the volunteer concerned.
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Aylesford Supply Chain Manager Stephen Belding (l) with Mark Grice
and Poppy products
YORKSHIRE, NORTH & EAST LOCAL NEWS
Poppy Appeal admin workshop
Competition Time
I have two T-Shirts, black with conference logo, that
were a limited issue for delegates at Alton Towers 2015.
You won't get these any where else and I am offering
them as prizes in a quick challenge to N&E Yorkshire
PAOs.
There was a lot of emphasis at Alton Towers this year
on All Year Round fund-raising. We need to continually
raise money to service the enormous spend on Welfare
which is still in the region of £1.5 million EACH WEEK
and cant rely on the Annual Poppy Appeal to deliver all
we need. Along with my other CFR colleagues, I am
continually looking for opportunities to raise funds where
we can add Royal British Legion marketing/branding
support - initiatives such as Poppy Picnics or Honour
Walks, details of these are available from me or on the
RBL web site
So, here's the idea. There is a T-Shirt for each of the
first two PAOs in our County to successfully arrange
either a Poppy Picnic, an Honor Event (basically a
sponsored walk, swim, bike ride etc.) or any other
fundraising event that raises a minimum of £100. In the
event of a tie, the decision will be based on the bank's
date stamp in your paying in book counterfoil.
Sarah Rayfield and Shane Crowhurst
This session was all to do with the 'ins and outs', rules
and regulations and 'how to' guides surrounding your
Poppy Appeal. The session took the form of a quiz and
subjects such as storage, banking, G4S etc. were
covered in depth. Those of you that attended my
seminars last year will be familiar with the quiz strangely enough it was very familiar and I managed to
get most questions correct….new quiz next year guys!!
Please don’t forget to tell me either if you, the
membership, a local Company or a member of the
public is holding a fundraising event for the Poppy
Appeal as I may be able to offer support and provide
Fundraising Packs.
Tel: 07769 840 904 or email
[email protected]
For those of you who don't know the guilty parties
pictured above (for some reason looking like guilty
school kids), let me enlighten you….
Sarah Rayfield is the Finance and Planning Manager at
Aylesford and she looks after, amongst other things,
statements. If you were late filing your statement after
the Appeal, it is Sarah's team that will be hunting you
down - in a nice way of course, not that we ever have
any late returns in our County….ahem! If after all of the
reminders, letters and phone calls about non-returns
from her team, Sarah will get involved and believe me,
that is one letter you don't want to receive! Sarah also
looks after CAF cheques so you can mail these direct to
her - don’t forget to include your PAO reference.
Shane Crowhurst is Aylesford's Administration and
Compliance manager dealing with insurance, ID cards,
banking arrangements, storage and, in his own words,
"Anything left over that nobody else does"
1915-2015 Enamel Poppy Pins
This years enamel pins have arrived at Aylesford so if
you need any for any fundraising activities for the Poppy
Appeal then please give Nimra Naeem a call on
01622 795 808
[email protected]
Please keep sending me items for inclusion in future
newsletters. And now, as usual, the national
news………………..
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NATIONAL NEWS
Summer Thames Boat Cruise
Thursday 2nd July
If you would like to find out more about gifts in Wills,
please contact Liz Fredericks, Legacy Manager
(T: 020 3207 2259, [email protected])
or Lauren Barr, Legacy Marketing Coordinator
(020 3053 7007, [email protected]). Or
alternatively, visit http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/getinvolved/legacies/leave-a-legacy .
Aylesford Update
2015 poppy pins are in stock and can be ordered via
PAOs Regional Administrators, but please only order
what you require for now and any events through the
summer.
As summer gets underway, we will be cruising along the
Thames for a fabulous summer party. The Legion has
chartered the stunning Silver Sturgeon, one of the most
luxurious Thames cruisers, for a chance to party under
the stars whilst enjoying the gentle pace of the river.
After being welcomed on board with champagne, join us
for an evening of relaxing fun and dine with us as
London’s amazing skyline passes gently by.
Aylesford are now in the construction phase of their
online ordering programme for PAOs. There are a
number of PAOs that are assisting with this and they will
also be helping as Aylesford progress to the testing
phase. Ray Sheppard Head of Poppy Appeal will
ensure that all PAOs are kept up to date as they move
through the project and it is hoped to have some of the
PAO volunteers online by the next Appeal.
Corporate Partners Activity for VE Day
After dinner, there will be time to dance the rest of the
night away to music from the Central Band of The Royal
British Legion and take your chances in our floating
casino before it is time to return to Westminster Pier and
dry land.
Tickets £250 each with tables of 8 or 10 available as
well as cosy booths for 6.
Contact Rebecca on 020 3207 2272,
[email protected]
Online booking: www.britishlegion.org.uk/thamescruise
Coventry Building Society, Warner Hotels and Marks &
Spencer have all kindly agreed to make VE Day pins
available. They will be asking for a suggested donation
of £2 with 100% of the proceeds coming to the Legion.
Gifts in Wills
Johnston Press, one of the largest local media
companies in the country, will be making a VE Day
supplement for all readers during May.
In 2012/13, 895 supporters generously left gifts in their
Wills. This generated an amazing £11,931,000 for the
Royal British Legion. This income can be broken down
amongst the regions as follows:
eBay, will be encouraging donations at checkout from
the 4-8th of May. There will also be a banner advertising
VE Day celebrations on eBay's homepage on the run up
to the appeal.
Warner Leisure Hotels will be hosting VE Day
celebration parties at their 13 country and coastal hotels
across the UK. Guests will come together to join the
celebration with great food and entertainment, but most
importantly to raise funds for the Legion.
Gifts in Wills are extremely important for the Legion and
we would love your help in promoting the importance of
this method of giving amongst our supporters and
volunteers.
Gifts in Wills help the Royal British Legion to plan for the
future and although we don’t know what challenges we
will face, we have confidence that we can continue to
improve the lives of thousands of serving members of
the Armed Forces, ex-Service men and women and
their families.
Westminster Collection, a long-term partner of the
charity, will be launching a free VE Day medal (above),
with £1.50 post and packing, and will donate 50p to the
Legion for each medal that’s claimed. Available from the
end of April, for details visit www.freevedaymedal.co.uk
Wild and Wolf will be hosting a staff party at their Head
Office in Bath and staff will be getting dressed up 1940’s
style. They will also be selling their ‘Home Front’ range
and emailing all buyers with information on how to get
involved.
In the lead up to VE Day more corporate partners will be
announcing their plans to commemorate the
anniversary. For any questions please email
[email protected].
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