Amazing charity backing
Near £ 30,000 for appeal
The generous people of Ayr donated almost £ 30,000 for the Poppy Appeal last year.
The amazing sum of £ 29,905 was collected for the 2016 appeal.
The Rotary Club of Ayr was approached by Poppy Scotland in 2010 because the Poppy Appeal in Ayr was in difficulty, as 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.
They had never collected over £ 20,000 for an appeal in Ayr.
However over the succeeding years, the annual donations have increased dramatically.
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 deserving thanks are 15 churches of all denomina t i o n s i n and around Ayr which accepted poppy tins.
There were a l s o individual volunteers, a n d w i t h p o p p y 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 was hard for anybody to avoid making a donation.
A R o t a r y C l u b spokesman said: “The £ 29,905 total is a reflection of the generosity of the good folk of Ayr who annually continue to support this worthy cause.”