Service personnel join Boris to launch London Poppy Day
02 November 2011
London Mayor Boris Johnson launches the third London Poppy Day outside City Hall. Joined by Royal Navy Logistician Zoe Braithwaite, Guardsman Adam Deer and RAF Corporal Jenny Long, the Mayor launched a massive fundraising effort by 1,000 collectors, who will target 60 tube stations across the capital in a bid to raise £500,000 in 12 hours - the most ambitious day of fundraising in The Royal British Legion's history.
The fundraising will be supported by Barclays, which has very generously agreed to donate £1 for every one of the estimated 20,000 to 30,000 'Boris Bike' trips made on Thursday 3 November.
The Mayor said: "I urge everyone to dig as deep in their pockets as they can to support London Poppy Day. I'm delighted we've been able to grant free travel to uniformed collectors and it is a generous gesture of Barclays to donate a pound for every journey on one of our wonderful blue bikes. I hope thousands of Londoners will take to two wheels to ensure Barclays make a whopping contribution to the Legion's coffers."
The money raised during London Poppy Day will go towards the 2011 Poppy Appeal fundraising target of £40 million. This will help fund The Royal British Legion's £50 million commitment towards the recovery of our Armed Forces injured in Afghanistan and Iraq, through the Battle Back Centre, a national centre of excellence for adaptive sports and adventurous training, and the operating costs of four Personnel Recovery Centres around the UK.
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