Scottish Poppy appeal raises a record £2.2m for war veterans

THE charity that helps Scotland's war veterans and their families has announced it raised a record £2.2 million in last year's Scottish Poppy appeal.

The 2009 appeal was launched in Jedburgh last October by comedian Rory Bremner and yesterday fellow Poppyscotland ambassador Lorraine Kelly revealed a total of 2,215,745 had been raised – almost 200,000 more than the previous year.

The GMTV presenter said: "This is a fantastic result and shows how much the public cares about Scotland's veterans. The work of Poppyscotland is even more relevant now than it's ever been."

But the charity also announced yesterday that it was launching a television advertising campaign today to encourage more people to step forward and volunteer for this year's Poppy Appeal.

According to Poppyscotland, many of its current band of volunteers, who sell poppies and organise collections, are nearing retirement age and the charity urgently needs new people to fill the gap.

Last year, the charity directly helped 1,424 individuals, including servicemen and women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also helps to fund the work of specialist organisations, such as Combat Stress.

Poppyscotland chief executive Ian McGregor said: "All of our volunteers, Royal British Legion Scotland members prominent among them, work tirelessly during the year and the total we are celebrating today would not have been made possible without their hard work and commitment.

"Incredibly, some of these people have dedicated ten, 20 or even 50 years to our cause but, understandably and deservedly, some are coming to a time when they think of retirement."