Sam EmanuelA Norwich student whose boyfriend is fighting overseas is urging people to help her show her support for troops abroad - by voting for her to appear in a glamorous fundraising calendar.

Sam Emanuel

A Norwich student whose boyfriend is fighting overseas is urging people to help her show her support for troops abroad - by voting for her to appear in a glamorous fundraising calendar.

Bianca Rackham, who is studying sport, health and exercise at City College, Norwich, knows only too well the worry of being a 'war wife', as her boyfriend, SAC Sean Simpson, 29, has been in Afghanistan since March.

Now she is appealing for public votes to get into the final 12 applicants for a 1940s pin-up calendar, Pin-up for Heroes 2011, to raise money for Help for Heroes, a charity which supports wounded soldiers and their families.

This year's calendar, in which Miss Rackham appears, raised �5,500, and the organisers are hoping that next year's calendar will raise even more money.

The 24-year-old, who lives in Felixstowe and who has given talks at City College, Norwich, about the plight of soldiers, said: 'Being at home you tend to feel a bit helpless and all you can do is wait, write and give as much support as you can.

'By having a chance to help out with the pin-up calendar, it will allow my partner as well as the rest of the troops in Afghanistan and at home to know that we are always here showing our support and thanking them for all that they do.

'I've been sending him emails and letters, and although I don't always get them back I know it's because he has a lot less time than me, I just like him to know I'm thinking of him.

'I think Help for Heroes is a great cause because there isn't a lot of support out there for injured soldiers.'

To vote for her, visit www.pinupforheroes.co.uk and click on Bianca Rackham on the right, and then click the thumbs-up icon

Are you raising money for a charity close to your heart? Call Sam Emanuel on 01603 772438 or email sam.emanuel@archant.co.uk.