Lowestoft's poppy appeal is celebrating a record-breaking year after raising £48,543.46 from this year's two-week collection.
Just seven years ago the annual appeal brought in around £13,000 from its annual fortnight-long collection.
But under the stewardship of organiser Bob King and
more recently Tom Bradley, who took over from Mr King as
poppy appeal organiser in February, that figure has steadily grown to more than three times that.
Mr King put the success down to a fantastic team of volunteers who offer their time to collect from shoppers in key areas,
such as Lowestoft town centre
and the town's main supermarkets.
However he said that with four superstores, more volunteers are still needed to cover the main shopping areas in future years - and bring in even more funds for the appeal.
This year has been a particularly poignant one for the poppy appeal, with the centenary of the start of the First World War bringing the sacrifices made by armed service personnel over the years into greater focus.
Mr King, who is chairman of the Royal British Legion (RBL) Lowestoft and District Branch said: 'We would like to thank the people of Lowestoft and district for their overwhelming
generosity over the two week Appeal period.
'We also thank those many volunteers who gave up their time to help with the appeal and without whom it would not happen.
'As the nation's leading Armed Forces charity, the Legion
spends £1.6million a week on vital welfare work, providing social, emotional and financial care and support to serving and ex-Service people and their families.
'Approximately 9.5million people in the UK are eligible for the Legion's support.
'A lot of injured people will be dependent on us for the rest of their lives.'
He added that the RBL could help people veterans to acquire items such as stairlifts, as well as help with with financial or emotional problems.
Are you organising a charity campaign? Tell The Journal by calling 01502 525825 or email lowestoft.journal@archant.co.uk
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