A Worthy Legacy
Approximately seven years ago, a sister from the Ashton 1 Ward, Ashton Stake, was working in a local care home where she met and started talking with visitors from the local Royal British Legion. During the conversation the visitors mentioned how challenging it was to get volunteers to assist with the annual Poppy Appeal. The sister, Helen Hubbert, immediately offered to be a volunteer for the RBL and their Poppy Appeal. Helen also told the visitors that she was confident she could get others to assist through family, friends, neighbours and members of her church community. The British Legion were delighted and discussions followed to put a plan together and find an appropriate venue for the appeal.
The plan was to create a rota that would run for 10 days, Monday to Saturday, 10.00am until 9.00pm. The venue was a local supermarket, where the volunteers would man some tables with displays and items to sell such as poppies, poppy wreaths, metal lapel poppies, poppy brooches, and poppy related items for children. Helen set about getting the rota filled with volunteers. It wasn’t easy, but with the help of family, friends, neighbours and members of the Church, the rota was filled.
Over the next two weeks, all the time slots were filled with volunteers, with help from families, youth, Primary children, full time missionaries, church members as well as some of Helen’s neighbours, all helped raise a substantial amount of money for the Poppy Appeal. It had been a positive experience for all involved. Helen’s enthusiasm, drive and organisational skills had made it happen. The question was, could and would Helen be willing to help the following year, the answer was yes. This time people, including members, were offering their services without being asked, again the rota was quickly filled and yet again a substantial amount of money was raised for the poppy appeal.
Sadly, the Poppy Appeal was interrupted during the COVID-19 lockdown and so there was no face to face Poppy Appeal in 2020. Helen was back in 2021 with the same enthusiasm and drive and a substantial amount of money raised for the RBL. In 2022, Helen was taken ill and sadly passed away in October. Her good friend Ashleigh Hughes, also a member of the Ashton 1 Ward took up the mantle to keep that commitment that Helen had made seven years earlier to support a charity that was close to her heart. Ashleigh has kept Helen’s legacy going, by organising the volunteers and correlating with the British Legion. During November 2023, members, along with friends, helped raise almost £18,000, a truly remarkable effort by one group of volunteers.
The British legion said that Helen has created a community with pride that had brought people together.
Helen has created a great tradition of service where people ask to volunteer and who want to do their part. What a great legacy to leave.