Member Article

Shoppers Raise Thousands for Armed Service Charities

NORTH East shoppers have raised more than £9,000 for service charities following a weekend of tributes marking the centenary of WW1 – and that figure is still rising.

To honour those who fought and died in armed conflicts over the past 100 years, intu Metrocentre held three days of displays and activities earlier this month, culminating in a 100 mile fundraising run by Newcastle army veteran Ian Proud.

The 48-year-old father of three began his marathon at Exhibition Square on Monday 4 August and crossed the finishing line beneath the intu Metrocentre’s new, commemorative, poppy chandelier four days later.

“I worked out that if I ran past every shop, upstairs and downstairs and along the middle twice, then that was about three miles or 5 kilometers,” he said, “and so that’s what I did, every day during the centre’s opening hours, until I had run a mile for every year that has passed since the outbreak of the Great War.

“I was carrying a collecting tin and just about everyone I passed made a donation, so I’d like to thank each and every one of them – people’s generosity was just overwhelming.”

Ian’s run raised £3,141, bringing the total generated from the World War Weekend so far to £9,091.92. And, with money still coming in, Ian, who is also the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal Organiser, hopes the final event sum may hit the £10,000 mark

This will then be distributed between a range of charities, including The Royal British Legion, The Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity, The Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, SSAFA and the ABF Soldiers Charity.

Along with exhibitions of military vehicles and WW1 artefacts, such as bagpipes and a bugle played on the battlefield during the Battle of the Somme, the World War Weekend, from August 2 to 4, featured a service of commemoration attended by the Bishop of Durham.

Shoppers were also able to purchase poppy crosses, which will be transferred from intu Metrocentre’s Garden of Remembrance to the official Garden of Remembrance, at Saltwell Park, Gateshead, in the run up to Remembrance Day.

“Our region has long and very strong links with the armed forces,” said Helen Atkinson, marketing manager at intu Metrocentre, which made a sizeable donation to the appeal, “and we would like to thank all the retailers, staff and customers, who joined us in supporting them.”

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