A surplus of volunteers for the Whangarei RSA Trust's poppy appeal means some will have to wait until next year for their turn.
Two days out from the annual appeal on April 15, the trust feared a lack of volunteers may prevent organisers from matching previous years' collections to support those who relied on the donations. Only 25 volunteers had signed up four days before the appeal.
After an article about the call for more volunteers in the Northern Advocate, trust chairman Archie Dixon said offers of help came flooding in.
"We were overwhelmed by the response and had more collectors this year than we've had in previous years, which also gave us a wider coverage within the CBD and areas such as Kamo and Raumanga," he said.
Mr Dixon said the response also lessened the burden of the trust's own volunteers. He said people from all ages and background responded to the plea and he thanked everyone for their support.