THE Royal British Legion is on the lookout for volunteers to join its army of helpers in Altrincham during this year’s Poppy Appeal campaign.

The Legion’s Poppy People campaign – a national recruitment drive for Poppy Appeal volunteers, launched recently by Shane Richie – is calling on the town's residents to dedicate a few hours to make a huge difference to the 6.2 million members of the Armed Forces community that are eligible for help from the Legion.

There will be a drop-in information session for anyone interested at 7pm this Friday, October 20, at Tesco Community Hub Room, Tesco, Altrincham.

Jennifer Donald, the Legion’s community fundraiser for East Cheshire, said: “We need approximately 40 additional volunteers across Altrincham this year to ensure we raise much-needed funds.

"Volunteering can provide great opportunities for those involved. It allows the chance to meet new people, learn new and transferable skills and be part of a team that helps the Armed Forces community and promotes understanding of Remembrance.

"We’d love all who want to volunteer with us to get in contact.”

Each year more than 350,000 poppy volunteers are needed across the country to raise much-needed funds to support current and former Armed Forces personnel, and their families. The Legion is looking for enthusiastic people of all ages and backgrounds to help run the Poppy Appeal in the borough and form part of its army of fundraisers, particularly in supermarkets across the town.

Claire Rowcliffe, Director of Fundraising, said: "The Poppy Appeal is The Royal British Legion’s main fundraising event of the year.

"Our volunteers are very much the lifeblood of the Poppy Appeal and contribute enormously to the charity year-round through a variety of roles.

“The best thing about being a volunteer for the Legion is that we welcome all ages and all backgrounds, people don’t have to be associated with the Armed Forces, they just need to be passionate about the cause.”

To find out more about becoming a fundraising volunteer during this year’s Poppy Appeal, contact Poppy appeal organiser for Altrincham, Jean Brookes, on 07923 541460.