Staff support the Royal British Legion poppy appeal

Thank you to the members of staff who gave up their time to sell poppies at Tesco on behalf of the Royal British Legion. The staff answered a call out for volunteers to ensure there was sufficient manning for the fundraising to go ahead after the Legion’s usual poppy appeal organiser and some of their volunteers were unable to help due to shielding and ill health.  One volunteer was Jon Giddens, our Maintenance Manager, who proudly wore his beret and service medals. Jon was in the Royal Signals from 1989-2012, leaving as a Staff Sergeant after serving in a number of postings including Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. For the last five years, Jon has taken part in the Remembrance Parade at the Cenotaph in London.

Jon said: “Remembrance Day is an incredibly important time for me and it was very disappointing that I couldn’t attend the London event.  It is especially poignant this year as it is the 100^th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Corps of Signals. I therefore jumped at the opportunity to be able to support the Royal British Legion and sell poppies to raise vital funds for the charity. It was wonderful and overwhelming to witness the generosity of the public who were only too willing to donate, in spite of the difficult times.  A lot of people commented that they were really pleased to see someone selling poppies as so many of the usual collections were not taking place.”

Julie, Tesco’s community champion said: “I am so appreciative of the support from the staff at Richmond School and Sixth Form College and other members of our community.  Without our team of volunteers the poppy appeal collection could not have gone ahead this year which would have been a huge loss for the Royal British Legion.”

We were delighted to be able to help and thank Julie, Tesco’s community champion, for co-ordinating the volunteers and making this happen.