People at Scotland's busiest train stations are being urged to take a selfie in special poppy booths and share on social media what the poppy means to them
The 2015 Scottish Poppy Appeal has been launched by one of the country’s most loved shopkeepers.
Actor and comedian Sanjeev Kohli, best known for his role as Navid in the hit comedy Still Game, called for the public to throw some money in a poppy donation tin next time they are out doing their shopping.
The theme of the 2015 Scottish Poppy Appeal is Donate like you mean it and PoppyScotland, the charity that organises the annual campaign, is calling on people to think about what the poppy means to them and to give as much money as they can during this year’s appeal.
At the launch, in Glasgow’s Queen Street station, Sanjeev said: “I’m proud to be launching the 2015 Scottish Poppy Appeal and my poppy means thank you.
“Thank you to the brave servicemen and women who lay their lives on the line so we can enjoy the freedoms we have today and thank you to PoppyScotland who look after those who’ve looked after us.
#MyPoppyMeans selfie booths are in the following stations from 0700-1900 on the following days:
Monday 26 October – Glasgow Queen Street.
Tuesday 27 October – Glasgow Central.
Thursday 29 October – Haymarket.
Friday 30 October – Edinburgh Waverley.
Monday 2 November – Inverness.
Tuesday 3 November – Aberdeen.
“I hope the public will join me in sharing what the poppy means to them and then donate like they mean it so that PoppyScotland can carry on its life-changing work.”
In a unique, new and modern idea, the charity has partnered with ScotRail to place special photography booths in six train stations over six days to enable the public to get selfies taken with their poppies which can then be shared on social media.
The images and videos will then be shared on PoppyScotland’s website and people will be encouraged to make a donation to the Scottish Poppy Appeal either by text, going online or putting money in a poppy tin.
Colin Flinn, head of fundraising at PoppyScotland, said: “The poppy means different things to different people so this year we’re asking people to tell us what the poppy means to them and then, importantly, donate like they mean it.
“It’s a strong call to action but we need to raise more money this year to ensure that those in the armed forces community are not disadvantaged and can live full lives.
“We can’t achieve this without the public so we are urging them to get behind us and support the appeal once again.”
A TV, radio, cinema and digital advertising campaign is also underway. People can donate to the Scottish Poppy Appeal by putting money in the poppy tins, texting POPPY to 70800 to donate £3 or donating online at poppyscotland.org.uk
