Actress Blythe Duff, renowned for her role as DS Jackie Reid in STV’s long running series police drama ‘Taggart’ will be appearing at Friday’s launch of Ideal Home Show Scotland at the SECC Glasgow to help raise aware and support for a charity appeal to help fund grants for soldiers and their families in need
Blythe Duff has become one of the celebrity supporters of the Ideal Homes for Heroes Appeal, a collaboration to between Ideal Home Show and ABF The Soldiers’ Charity to raise £150K for soldiers and their families by December 2011. The money will be used to fund grants and home improvements for soldiers and former soldiers including those returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.
Blythe says: "There is no better feeling than the comfort of your own home. It must be something that our troops think about when times are tough. I congratulate the team behind the Ideal Homes for Heroes Appeal and look forward to catching up with The Soldiers’ Charity on the 27th May."
The Soldiers’ Charity which provides lifetime support to serving and retired soldiers and their families has seen a 30 per cent increase in applications for support in recent years and has now set itself the target of increasing fundraising to £14 million a year by 2015 to be sure that they can help each and every soldier that needs help.
Last year, owners Media 10 launched Ideal Homes for Heroes at the Ideal Home Show in London and the appeal raised over £102,000.
Blythe Duff, will be joined by George Clarke, Fiona Phillips, & Linda Barker, who will also be attend Troops Day, a special tribute to our Armed Forces at the Ideal Home Show Scotland which will ‘kick start’ the second fundraising opportunity for Ideal Home for Heroes Appeal 2011 and bring the appeal closer to it’s target – to raise £150k for soldiers and their families by December 2011.
The appeal will help with vital home adaptations, home improvements, general housing needs and homelessness of those who served in the Armed Forces. It will also offer funds to support older veterans who need assistance with home adaptations so they can stay in their own homes, as well as supporting those coping with other issues, such as homelessness, debt, and unemployment.
“The Ideal Homes for Heroes Appeal made such an impressive start in 2010 and allowed us to give practical help to 152 soldiers and their families. With the public’s continued support, our partnership with the Ideal Home Show in London and now in Scotland for 2011 will allow us to be there for more soldiers, former soldiers and their families.” said Major General Sir Evelyn Webb-Carter, Chief Executive of The Soldiers’ Charity.
Rob Nathan, Marketing Director of Media 10, show organisers added: “We launched the Ideal Homes for Heroes Appeal in 2010 with the aim of making a difference to a worthy charity that was close to the hearts of the nation. We could not have anticipated the incredible response that we received at the show, and thanks to the amazing generosity of our visitors the campaign was a huge success, and has helped many deserving members of our forces across the UK.
"The Ideal Home Show is very proud to have made such a difference to the beneficiaries and we will continue to support the vital work of The Soldiers’ Charity and their efforts in supporting our troops for 2011 and beyond.”
To meet the target, the Ideal Home Show Scotland is donating 50p of every ticket sold. In addition, the Royal Regiment of Scotland band will perform at the show opening on Friday 27th May, to officially launch this fantastic appeal. Donations can also be made direct to help more soldiers and their families by visiting www.idealhomeshowscotland.co.uk for further information.