Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Devon and the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Devon website's appeal to support our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq by donating hand-made greetings cards has been a huge success.

Piles and piles of cards have been donated and they continue to arrive. In less than two weeks after the appeal was made on John Govier's Late Night Radio Show, four sack-loads were sent in.

Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Devon listener Jacqui Wood came up with the idea of sending cards to our troops in conflict zones.

JG and Jacqui with some of the cards

Jacqui is a regular listener to JG's programme and a keen crafter, creating hand-made cards for all sorts of occasions.

She dropped an e-mail to the show inviting other listeners to donate some of their handiwork and the appeal immediately took off.

Around 4,000 cards were handed over to military chiefs in Plymouth on Wednesday 28 November 2007. A further 4,000+ were delivered in January 2008.

All varieties of cards have been donated so the troops can send greetings to loved ones back in the UK.

"It's a marvellous effort and a a real boost for our personnel in Afghanistan that they are being thought of by people back home," said Lt Col Martin Taylor, OBE, commanding officer at RM Stonehouse barracks.

Great Response

The appeal rapidly snowballed after John Govier first mentioned it on his show. He's thanked everyone who donated cards for their support.Μύ

"No sooner had I read Jacqui's request on air than the offers of help started to arrive," he said.

"I know a lot of the late show listeners are crafters, so I wasn't at all surprised at the reaction to this fantastic idea.

"When Jacqui and I sorted through them, just two weeks after the original appeal, there were almost 3,000 cards!"

Tour of Duty

Wayne is another late show listener. He serves in the Royal Engineers and is due for a tour of duty in Afghanistan next year.

Wayne thinks it's a great idea!

"I think it's a great idea," he said. "We are able to send 'blueys' back home - and we sometimes get the chance of a video link up - but you can hardly just pop into the local shop for a birthday card when you're in the middle of a war zone."

If you'd like to donate hand-made greetings cards for any occasion (Birthday, Easter, Valentine's Day etc) please send them to the following address:

Cards For The Troops
John Govier's Late Night Radio Show
PO Box 1034
Plymouth

Alternatively you can drop them off at Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio Devon's Exeter or Plymouth receptions during office hours.