Eight colleagues from Surrey County Council competed to see who could assemble the most poppies on Thursday August 2, producing an impressive 6,352 poppies in less than three hours for the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal.
In the afternoon they helped prepare materials for the Field of Remembrance, which The Poppy Factory organises each year at Westminster Abbey to honour fallen servicemen and women on Remembrance Day.
The team, from the council’s legal and democratic services department, also learned more about The Poppy Factory’s Getting You Back to Work programme, which helps wounded, injured and sick ex-Forces men and women around the UK find meaningful employment that fits their individual skills and ambitions.
Almost 1,000 veterans have been supported into work through the programme since it launched in 2010 and over 70 per cent remain in work for 12 months or longer.
Deirdre Mills, Chief Executive of The Poppy Factory, said: “We are really grateful to the team from Surrey County Council for all their hard work at The Poppy Factory. It was also wonderful to see their enthusiasm for the work we do in Surrey and across the UK to support wounded, injured and sick veterans who are looking to get back into work.”
Emma O’Donnell, Cabinet Senior PA at Surrey County Council, said: “It was great to meet the veterans at The Poppy Factory. We really enjoyed the challenge of producing so many poppies in a short space of time, and it was good to learn that the charity is helping people find work in all sorts of different ways, all over the country.”
Find out about supporting The Poppy Factory.
For media enquiries about The Poppy Factory please contact Dan Hodges on 07496 645 869 or email danh@poppyfactory.org
