Pictured above: Raj Madahar, of Pertemps People Development Group (PPDG), joins colleagues supporting Pam George, of PPDG(third from left), and daughter Amy George (fifth from left) as they prepare to stage a fundraising event for the Help for Heroes charity

A West Midlands nurse who is preparing for her first tour of duty in Afghanistan is staging a party to raise funds for brave servicemen and women who are battling to overcome serious injuries.

Amy George, aged 27, from Great Barr, hopes to collect £1,000 for the Help for Heroes charity before she leaves the UK in May to serve her country in the war zone.

Amy, a staff nurse at Birmingham's City Hospital and a reserve nurse in the RAF, is appealing to businesses to donate prizes, services or products that can be used as auction prizes at the fundraising event at the Royal Hotel, Ablewell Street, Walsall, on March 19th.

Prizes already donated include four tickets for a top class cricket match at Warwickshire's Edgbaston ground and six tickets to a tribute act night at The Range in Bloxwich. The Royal Hotel is providing the venue free of charge and Swinnerton's of Walsall has offered to decorate the room.

Organising the event is Amy's mother Pam George, of Walsall, who works as an employment coach for Pertemps People Development Group (PPDG) at its West Bromwich office. PPDG colleagues are supporting the family by making donations and attending the event.

Pam said: "Amy is my precious daughter and what started as a party for friends and family to wish her a safe journey has been appropriately turned into a fundraising event supporting Help for Heroes - a fantastic charity set up to assist our injured and disabled servicemen and women. We owe so much to these courageous people whose lives and health have been changed forever."

Amy said: "I am amazed and delighted at the generosity shown by people who are supporting us and donating to this event. I can't thank them enough."

Any businesses able to support the event are urged to contact Pam on 07779 846384 or by email at  pamela.george@ppdg.co.uk.

PPDG delivers the Government's Welfare to Work strategy across the Midlands through Flexible New Deal, Work Focused Training and other employment initiatives. PPDG is using its vast experience of helping long-term unemployed people get back into work to help local jobseekers secure employment opportunities.

PPDG's team of employment experts provide advice on benefits, confidence building, one-to-one support, CV and interview preparation as well as finding the right job or training course. In partnership with DWP, the Ministry of Justice and Jobcentre Plus, PPDG delivers a diverse range of employment and training initiatives including Flexible New Deal, Working Neighbourhoods Fund, Learndirect and many ESF funded programmes. More than 100,000 job seekers have been helped into sustained employment by the company since the projects began.  It has trained 130,000 people in vocational skills, and over 175,000 people have benefitted from professional information, advice and guidance services.