When Sian Cameron first took the reins of the Poppy Appeal in Hartlepool, friends and family thought it would be a one-time thing.
Following in her late dad, Ian Cameron’s footsteps, she said: “Everyone thought I would do it once, get it out of my system, and then hand it on and go back to my everyday life.”
Given Sian’s determination to do her dad proud, and a constant desire to help a good cause, they probably should have guessed she would still be at the helm 15 years later, and celebrating a major milestone, as the appeal hits the £1m mark since her dad started in the role in 2003.
“It wasn’t until a few years ago that I started to notice we were edging closer to the £1m,” said Sian, who gives countless hours every year to ensure thousands of poppies are available to the people of the town.
Come the lead up to Remembrance Day her house in Wolviston is piled high with boxes of paper flowers, waiting to be sorted and delivered.
Sian is always quick to point out that the process is very much a team effort, after all, it couldn’t be done without the group of die-hard volunteers who share her passion, and then, of course, the generosity of those who donate to the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal every year.
In her first year she admits she was driven by a desire to do her dad proud and, in light of the competitive spirit that had existed between the two, a wish to top his previous total.
In his seven years working with the charity, Ian took the town’s collection total from £13,700 in his first year to an incredible £43,300 in 2009.
“In that first year I was adamant I was going to beat that,” said Sian with a smile. And she did, toppling his total with an incredible £44,000.
Since then, the team’s ambition has always been simply to beat the year before. Every year Sian never fails to be astounded by people’s generosity.
With no direct links to the armed forces, she said no one really knew why her dad chose to pick up the mantle for the Poppy Appeal branch, but it didn’t come as a surprise to the family as that was the type of man he was.
Back then, while Sian was always there to lend a hand, she said it never really got under her skin until she took the lead herself.
Today she is not only 15 years in, 22 if you count the years she helped her dad, but she is also in her second term as chair of the Hartlepool branch of the Royal British Legion.
“If someone had said I was going to be branch chair of the legion, I would have laughed,” she said. But she loves it.
“The number of people I have the privilege to spend time with is amazing,” she said. “It is a really nice place to be.”
As for the day job, when she isn’t selling poppies, Sian is commercial operations and compliance manager at NETA Training. And, a driving force when it comes to recruiting volunteers come those fast-paced weeks before Remembrance Sunday, she has the NETA staff members primed and ready to muck in.
Even the NETA director helps, often out on the road delivering poppy boxes.
Looking at the numbers it rapidly became clear “a good year” come November could see the team reach the £1m target. Bringing in a staggering £74,000, it’s fair to say they smashed it.
Numbers aside, Sian describes every year as a good year, as they get to see the very best in people and the community.
She said: “There’s a sense of pride when you look around on Remembrance Sunday and think every poppy on show here has probably come from one of the boxes in the town.”
As for the town raising £1m, she knows dad would be proud of that!
