VIDEO: Soldier parcel collection day a 'massive success'

Support Our Soldiers held a collection day at Morrisons in Wick on Saturday, where customers donated more than £460 and a trolley filled with shopping which will go towards the parcels the charity send out at Christmas time.

Lead volunteer Penny Keen, from Buttermere Way, Littlehampton, said the day went ‘exceptionally well’: “Littlehampton is a lovely community and they do so much to help us.

“It was such a massive success because people are so supportive of our troops and they don’t often get a chance to show it.”

The mayor of Littlehampton Billy Blanchard-Cooper also supported the event, and Morrisons raffled four Andrex puppy toys for the charity’s funds.

A cheque will be presented to the charity at the end of the month. Craftsman Leigh Kyle from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers was at the supermarket to help out at the collection day.

He said: “I was a recipient of one of the parcels while I was out in Estonia, and the little things like tea bags and soap makes a big difference to all of us out there so it is much appreciated.”

Penny said: “A lot of people kept telling me how proud they were of our troops, and I kept saying go and tell Leigh that, because that is something I cannot pack in a parcel.

“He said as soon as he opens one of our boxes it is like having a bit of home. It is such a lovely thing to hear.”

The charity’s numbers have swelled in the run-up to Christmas, with more than 20 volunteers making at least 150 packages which will be sent off on Sunday.

The parcels are sent to British servicemen and women around the world, from Iraq to Afghanistan and Bahrain.

Penny said: “I want to say a massive thank you, we are all so grateful to everyone who donated. I can’t explain how wonderful it is.”

Support Our Soldiers was founded in 2003 by two servicemen to keep up morale during the war in Afghanistan.

It picked up support nationally and became a registered charity in 2007, sending parcels containing letters and home comforts like sweets and biscuits to members of the armed forces serving overseas.