Excellent Poppy Appeal Results

Thank you to all the good people of Ayr for another marvellous total of £29905 in the 2016 Poppy Appeal. The Rotary club of Ayr was approached by Poppy Scotland in 2010 because the Poppy Appeal in Ayr was in difficulty, the Area Organiser was leaving and the number of volunteers had fallen. Over the years the Rotary Club, led by Rotarian Geoff Barber and helped by his wife Jan, have been successful in involving more and more local community organisations in the appeal. When Ayr Rotary took over the organisation of the appeal in 2010, they made immediate improvements on the total collected in earlier years. Never before had over £20,000 been raised by the Appeal in Ayr. However over the succeeding years, the annual donations have been remarkable. However in 2016 Geoff and Jan handed over the reins to another Ayr Rotary Club member, Paul Williams who accepted the challenge with relish. Those involved in the 2016 collection were: the Army Cadet Force, Ayr Inner Wheel Club, The Lions Club of Ayr and Prestwick, the Sea Cadets, the Air Cadets, the Boys Brigade, St Columba Scouts and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Also, worthy of mention are 15 churches of all denominations in and around Ayr which accepted poppy tins. In addition there were individual volunteers. With poppy cans distributed to most Ayr businesses, schools, colleges and hospitals, collections at supermarkets for two weeks and street collections on the two weekends before Remembrance Sunday, it is hard for anybody to avoid making a donation. The £29905 total is a reflection of the generosity of the good folk of Ayr who annually continue to support this worthy cause.