Help For Heroes Looking For Volunteers
To help with the TfL Christmas Collections on International Volunteer Day
Help for Heroes TfL Christmas Collections are the perfect opportunity for International Volunteer Day on 5 December.
It may still seem early to be talking about Christmas, but with only 40 or so days to go till its Christmas Collections at 18 Transport for London (TfL) stations across London, military charity Help for Heroes is appealing for volunteers to start channelling their festive spirit now and sign up to take part on Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 December.
The charity is asking anyone with a spare couple of hours on either date to register at collectforheroes.org.uk or contact the Help for Heroes Campaigns team on 0300 303 9888 or campaigns@helpforheroes.org.uk.
With Thursday 5 December being International Volunteer Day and Christmas being traditionally a time when people like to give back as well as give presents, Help for Heroes’ TfL Christmas Collection days give people the perfect excuse to have fun, do some good and help wounded and sick veterans at what can be an emotional time of year.
Research Help for Heroes has done among volunteers at its TfL Christmas Collections shows that people really enjoy taking part, with many taking part in every collection. This is the 4th time that the charity has collected at TfL stations and they have become big fundraising events for the charity, with appearances being made at various stations by the Invictus Choir, Heroes Band, veterans and, of course, Help for Heroes’ inimitable mascot, Hero Bear.
Paula Knott, an RAF veteran who has been supported by Help for Heroes, will be volunteering on both days. She was medically discharged from the RAF following a leg injury and subsequently struggled to deal with both the physical pain and psychological impact of losing both her job and a life she loved. She explains why it is important for more people to volunteer for the Help for Heroes TfL collection: "Almost 40,000 people have been medically discharged from the Armed Forces in the past twenty years, many of whom – like me – will have struggled to transition into civilian life. It’s not just that you’re suffering from mental or physical wounds but that, overnight, you lose your identity and self respect. Help for Heroes can be a literal life-saver to people going through this process – so the more people we have collecting on 4th and 5th December, the more we can ensure that every sick or wounded veteran gets the support they need.”
To find out more about the collection and to register to take part, go to www.collectforheroes.org.uk or call 0300 303 9888.
October 24, 2019