STUNNING START TO...

...THE HEROES POEM IDEA

When publishers United Press asked people to get poetic about the Help for Heroes campaign, they were stunned by the response.

“The appeal raised £791 within days of starting,” said United Press managing director Peter Quinn. “That’s more than we expected to raise in the entire year that the competition will run, so we were absolutely bowled over by the public’s reaction.”

United Press is asking entrants to the competition to submit a poem of any length on the theme of Help for Heroes. The winner will receive £250 in shopping vouchers donated by Primark and have their poem published by United Press in a general collection of modern poetry and will receive a free copy of the book.

“The strength of the response to the competition - even though it has just started - shows how much the British public feel about this extremely worthy cause,” said ex-serviceman Arthur Roe when he received the £791 in cheques on the behalf of Help for Heroes, for which he is an active campaigner.

“This competition gives the public the opportunity to express their feelings about the campaign,” said Sergeant Tam Miller who represented the Army at the presentation. “It also gives them the opportunity to make a significant contribution to the good work that the campaign does.”

“United Press is asking all entrants to the competition to donate at least £1 in the form of a cheque made out to Help for Heroes. The fact that some people have donated as much as £50 for entering one poem shows how much they care,” added Arthur.

Entries are only accepted by post, accompanied by a cheque made out to Help for Heroes. Post your entries to United Press, Admail 3735, London, EC1B 1JB, (telephone 0844 800 9178) by the closing date of November 11th 2011. You don’t need an entry form but make sure you put Help For Heroes at the top of each entry. See www.unitedpress.co.uk for more details.

“Cheques must be made out to Help for Heroes and you can donate as much as you like and enter as many poems as you like,” said Peter Quinn, who will judge the competition. “We’re looking for poems related to Help for Heroes. It could be a poem about an individual or it could be a poem with a message.”