Armed Forces Day is less than a month away and our team of volunteers will once again be hitting the streets of Shrewsbury, raising vital funds to aid the work we do at SSAFA – and we need your help!
The street collection is being organised by Sue Beighton and Brian Glendinning. It takes place on Saturday, June 29, in the town centre and we are keen to hear from anyone who would like to help us with the collection on the day.
Sue said: “The organisation is very much a joint effort between Brian and myself. We have a street licence to collect anywhere in Shrewsbury and have to buy the licence – Brian gets that side of things sorted out with the Town Council.
“We will be set up with Shoplatch as our base and have a number of regular volunteers who will be helping out again, but we would be happy to hear from anyone else who could spare some time on the day.
“The aim is to cover all the town centre with as many people as we can get. We have had eight to 10 in the past but could happily accommodate more. So if anyone has an hour, half an hour, whatever time they can give us, really, then we want to hear from them.
“The last couple of years we have had a gazebo at Shoplatch and hopefully that will be the case again. We will also be delighted to welcome any visitors on the day to come along and find out more about SSAFA and the work we do.
Sue has been heavily involved with SSAFA as a volunteer, fundraiser and caseworker for several years, joining us after working with Help for Heroes following her son Nick being seriously injured in an explosion while serving in Afghanistan in 2009.
Nick, of course, has become a prolific Paralympian, also hugely successful at a number of major canoeing championships and has been selected for the British team heading to Hungary for a competition in August with his eyes firmly set on the Tokyo games next year.
He recently finished third fastest in the world championships in Poland but missed out on a medal because a Gold and two Silvers were presented and no Bronze after two competitors tied for second place. Another magnificent achievement!
Anyone wanting to volunteer on the day can contact Sue on sue.beighton@hotmail.com or call the SSAFA Office in Shrewsbury on 01743 344220 between 10am and noon Monday to Friday.
