Two local volunteers from Help for Heroes attended County Hall on Thursday (27th October) to receive a cheque for £8,363 collected in aid of Monmouthshire’s past chairman’s appeal. County Councillor Peter Clarke picked Help for Heroes as his chosen charity during his term of office (May 2010 – May 2011) and he was delighted to pass on the funds raised to Diana and Roderick McCrea, Help for Heroes volunteer co-ordinators for Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen.
Diana, a former army nurse, outlined the work undertaken by Help for Heroes since its inception four years ago. She said: “Every penny raised by the Chairman’s Appeal will go to work for the cause because all of our administration costs are met by receipts from the sales of Help for Heroes merchandise. A considerable sum is spent to aid wounded servicemen and women in Wales. For instance, the charity has funded a gymnasium extension to the facility for blind and partially sighted servicemen and women at St Dunstans in Anglesey. In recognition of the one million pounds donation, the new extension will be known as the Help for Heroes Gym.
Diana was accompanied by her husband Roderick who used to serve in the Royal Artillery. Their son, Capt. George McCrea is a Royal Engineer due to be posted to Afghanistan early next year.
Councillor Clarke said: “It’s a real pleasure to meet Diana and Roderick and I’m very pleased that we were able to raise so much for such a worthwhile cause”.
