Carol Baldwin
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Wakaw Recorder
Every year, from the last Friday of October to November 11, millions of Canadians wear a Poppy as a visual pledge to honour Canada’s Veterans and remember those who sacrificed for the freedoms enjoyed today.
The Poppy Campaign is very much a local initiative, conducted by Legion Branches in cities, towns and communities across the country. Donations collected during the Poppy Campaign are held in Trust at the branch level to directly support Veterans and their families in need within their community, honour their sacrifices, and help ensure Canadians ‘never forget’. The Poppy is distributed freely to all who wish to wear one, and the Legion gratefully accepts all donations to its Poppy Fund. Donations to the Legion Poppy Trust Fund are never used for Legion operations.
Established in 1926, The Royal Canadian Legion is Canada’s largest Veteran support and community service organization and is not affiliated with any political party or organization. The Legion does not accept financial assistance from any government party for its operations. It is a not-for-profit, membership-based organization and the membership dues, determined at the Branch level, help support the Branch operations, and a portion of the member dues support national and provincial operations such as administration, member programs and benefits, marketing, and facilities. Dues are typically between $40-$60 per member per year.
Although not accepting government financial assistance for operation expenses, Branches are free to pursue grants through federal, provincial or municipal government programs for initiatives outside of normal operations such as major renovations and upgrades, for example. These grants are available to all not-for-profits, and Legions only use the funds as defined in the grant guidelines. Branches often supplement income by renting out their facilities and providing food and entertainment services in their community.
A large part of the funding for Legion Branches comes through fundraising. Branch members volunteer their time to organize fundraising activities such as BBQs, dinners, bingo nights, and meat draws to raise additional monies for operations and programming. The national body of the Royal Canadian Legion produces branded merchandise and apparel which Legion Branches can sell at a profit.
In addition, proceeds from purchases made directly through the Member Store and the Poppy Store on the Legion’s website, support its programs and are shared with provincial Commands in proportion to the sales made to Branches and members within each Command. Saskatchewan Command of The Royal Canadian Legion has a provincial membership of approximately 9,000 members with 163 Legion branches throughout the province. Locally, Branches are located at Wakaw, Duck Lake, Birch Hills, Humboldt, Kinistino, and Prince Albert.
Where there is no local Legion Branch, donations can be made directly to the Saskatchewan Command by by visiting the Legion website.
Locally, donation boxes can be found in many small businesses. If someone wants to receive a poppy but cannot access a business where they are available, a new collaboration with Amazon Canada offers a solution. A new storefront on Amazon.ca offers lapel Poppies for donations of $2, $5, $10, and $20 until November 11. One hundred percent of the funds will go directly to the Legion’s Poppy Trust Fund to help support our Veterans and their families.
An important reminder is that the Poppy Campaign does not do any type of telephone campaigning or door-to-door collections. With the many scams targetting the unsuspecting, this message bears repeating. If anyone should receive a call asking for a donation … it is NOT the Legion and DO NOT DONATE.
