The Royal British Legion, Jersey, is thrilled to announce that the Jersey Poppy Appeal 2020 raised just over £200,000 in response to the fundraising theme ‘Every Poppy Counts’. The organisers of the Appeal have been overwhelmed by the ‘humbling’ amount of money, especially given what a challenging year it has been.
Alison Opfermann, Poppy Appeal organiser, said: “We are delighted and humbled by this result. The generosity of islanders at a time when many are furloughed and business activity is significantly down, is quite remarkable. When so much was not possible this year, people clearly focussed on what would be possible: to think of others, give support to our community of former service people and find a bit of joy in fundraising. Thank you, Jersey!”
This year a pop-up shop was opened on King Street in the hope of attracting more footfall. This was run by a team of dedicated volunteers and was set up to allow for safe social distancing.
Tim Daniels, Chairman of The Royal British Legion, Jersey said: “To be reporting this amount of money raised in the Poppy Appeal is testament to the indomitable spirit of those hard working members of the collecting team who improvised, adapted and overcame the obstacles and to the humbling generosity of the public of the island and island businesses who raised a sum of money that will allow us to look after our own and also send a modest sum back to the UK for resources we do not have on the island. On behalf of service veterans and their families we offer sincere and heartfelt gratitude.”
