Leicestershire Police Cadets raise £500 for the Royal British Legion

Volunteer Police Cadets from Leicestershire Police have raised £500 for the Royal British Legion.

The teenagers have been busy selling poppies and baking cakes, and one cadet has set up a scheme offering weekly phone calls to elderly people who feel lonely.

Police Cadet Grace Burton rallied her fellow cadets to step up and help after she discovered that the Covid-19 pandemic would mean that many people couldn’t collect for the Poppy Appeal as normal.

“The Royal British Legion do so much for so many people, and I thought it would be really sad if they couldn’t raise enough funds this year” says Grace, “My generation share a lot of respect for Remembrance Day and I saw this as a great opportunity for us to work together and do something good.

“I’m so pleased with the amount of money we’ve all managed to raise, and I really enjoyed having something so positive to put my time towards!”

Grace, along with many other cadets, sold poppies to her friends, family and neighbours. She also baked red-velvet cupcakes which she decorated as poppies.

Another police cadet, Grace Hughes, was inspired to set up a scheme called ‘Only a Call Away’, which offers a weekly phone call to elderly people in her community who are feeling lonely or isolated.

She said: “I lost my lovely grandad in August this year and have noticed that my grandma has been feeling quite lonely, especially in lockdown. I thought it would be good idea to raise money for the Royal British Legion and to combat loneliness at the same time. I want to give people a friendly voice to talk to.”

Grace, 14, has been scheduling the phone calls after school and says she really enjoys it. “I really like talking to people and especially like hearing about things they did when they were younger, their hobbies, interests and their families. I think it gives them a boost to just have a nice chat with someone.”

Grace has set up a JustGiving page called ‘Grace’s Only a Call Away’ with details of how to nominate someone for a phone call, and she will continue raising money for the Royal British Legion.

Leicestershire’s Volunteer Police Cadet programme invites young people aged 13 to 17 to gain an unrivalled insight into policing and learn new skills and knowledge, all while helping their local community. Recruitment will open in March 2021 for a September 2021 start date. Find out more online: leics.police.uk/couldyou