Poppy Appeal Award

National award recognises Daren’s year-round efforts

Catshill, Lickey End and Barnt Green Poppy Appeal co-ordinator Daren Lacey is a familiar face in the run up to Remembrance Day as he seeks to raise as much money as possible for the Royal British Legion.

But Daren doesn’t restrict his goodwill to a few months a year and he recently received a national award for his community spirit during the current Covid19 pandemic. Daren was nominated for a Certificate of Appreciation, which acknowledged 50 RBL fundraisers nationwide, after doing shopping for elderly and vulnerable people in his neighbourhood and supporting the local foodbank. Anyone who knows Daren will appreciate that helping out those in need is in his DNA and that getting just enough is never good enough. “I’m in my fourth year organising the Poppy Appeal campaign in Catshill and Lickey End – Barnt Green is a new addition this year,” he said. “We used to raise between £3,000 and £5,000 but that figure has doubled in recent years thanks to the community getting behind us. I’ve held a jumble sale in Catshill Village Hall that raised £500 and Willowbrook Garden Centre have allowed us to have a pop up stall.” This year will be dramatically different due to Covid 19. There will be no Remembrance Day parade and instead of the usual 115 collection boxes for the area there will be just 25. “The guidelines seem to be changing every day,” said Daren. Collection boxes will be fully stocked, they are Covid safe and have been fully isolated and will be put into local shops, every item has to be quarantined for 72 hours before it can be displayed. The schools are having a fundraising day where children pay £1 to wear a red jumper so that will help to generate funds.

“We’re hoping to get some street collections done while adhering to the guidelines. We’ve now got a machine to process card payments and the RBL is bringing out QR codes that people can scan to make a payment.” The RBL Poppy Appeal Catshill, Lickey End and Barnt Green has its own Facebook page and Daren has also set up a JustGiving page. Scout organisations are a key feature of Remembrance Day parades and in Bromsgrove district young people will still be putting their best foot forward to help ex-servicemen – virtually. Conquering the famous Three Peaks is the aim. Beavers can tackle one peak, Cubs two and Scouts three by adding up the number of steps they walk every day over the course of a week. To make a donation to the Catshill, Lickey End and Barnt Green Poppy Appeal via Just Giving visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/

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