A request for help

Recieved from a blogging friend and passed on in case any of my readers can help...

''Apologies for a somewhat unsolicited email, but I was wondering if you might be able to help somebody I've recently come into contact with or if you personally can't help, you might be able to forward this onto somebody else who might be in a better position

As part of the day job, I'm a journalist for a local radio station. On Friday I was contacted by a man called David Godfrey - his grandson, Rifleman Daniel Coffey, was recently killed on duty in Iraq, and David spoke out against the occupation of Iraq.

Speaking to David was a very emotional experience - a couple of times during our conversation he broke down in tears and it was clear that not only had Daniel's death left a great hole in his life but he was angry - angry at why Daniel was in Iraq in the first place. After he hung up, I had to take a walk outside for 5 minutes to compose myself, which I've never had to do before despite covering some nasty and upsetting stuff.

David, it seems, wants to put his anger and grief to some kind of purpose. He said he wanted to organise a series of rallies across the country, and wanted to get the backing of celebrities, MPs, singers, actors, bands, the whole lot. The eventual aim was twofold: to send a message to the government about Iraq and to raise money that would help the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq directly in some form or another. He has background in campaigning and fundraising - he lost another grandson to a rare illness and has done a lot raising money and awareness in that field. This is obviously a bigger task, and his first step was to get the local media on board, and also plunder any contacts they might have for people who can help.

But I can't for the life of me see the station I work for getting involved in anything as politically charged as this, and my contact book is not exactly awash with celebrities and others whose support he's after. Which is why I'm emailing. As a young, fairly lowly journalist on the bottom rung of the ladder in rural Devon there's only so much I could do if I were able to. I've no idea if any of you would be able to help, or have a better stocked address book than me, but as bloggers I respect and admire, not just for your writing, but also your activism, I thought there was no harm in asking, and even if its not something you'd feel like you wanted to commit to, you might be able to forward it onto somebody who could help David. So that's it, really. Again, apologies for firing off an unsolicited email out of the blue, and putting a dampener on a Sunday evening/Mon morning, but if you are able to help David, even if its just pointing him in the right direction and towards the right people, I'm sure it'd be greatly appreciated. His email is [please email me at rachelnorthlondon {AT} gmail DOT COM to get David's email/contact details - RN ]-

Like I say, its very rare that I'm affected by speaking to somebody, but after nearly an hour on the phone with David, I really did feel like I should do something, because the station definitely won't.

Thanks for listening''

If you want to help or have any ideas, please get in touch with me in the first instance.

Many thanks

Rachel