THE MALL has stepped up to support Blackburn Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal by donating and decorating a unit to boost fundraising.

Management were approached by long-time volunteer and Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Green Spaces Manager Eddie Maxwell, who leads the efforts in the shopping centre every year.

The unit, near JD Sports & Debenhams, has been dedicated to the appeal and people can purchase poppies, donate money and get all the details on how they can donate online or by phone.

Loraine Jones, General Manager at The Mall Blackburn, said: “It is heart breaking to hear how many charities have been massively affected by the pandemic and the ways in which people can help are very limited.

“With remembrance parades not taking place and the usual activity in The Mall not able to go ahead, we really wanted to do something to help.

“We utilised an empty unit and created some stunning artwork to really inspire people to engage and hopefully donate.

“We’re delighted to have helped in some small way and thank Eddie for his tireless efforts to raise money and awareness every year.”

Eddie Maxwell, who has worked for the Council for over 20 years, has been supporting the Blackburn branch of the Royal British Legion as Poppy Appeal Organiser for the last for 10 years.

He said: “We are so grateful to Loraine and her team at The Mall for giving us this opportunity to raise funds for the 2020 Poppy Appeal.

“Initial estimates show we could be as much as 50 per cent down on donations, which is a huge amount of money that should be spent on making a difference to our Armed Forces community.

“We are accepting any value of donation – every penny and every poppy really does count this year.

“There will be a volunteer in The Mall every day from now until 11thth November and the team have very kindly said that we can leave the fabulous artwork in place after that, so hopefully people will continue to support us via phone or text donations.”