MOOSE JAW — After the , the Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 59 is now making poppies available to the general public through its yearly Poppy Campaign.
To help in this year’s campaign, members of all three cadet elements — including volunteers with the 99 Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Assiniboine and the 33 Moose Jaw Navy League — have returned and were posted at venues across Moose Jaw including the 麻豆传媒AV Hill Fine Foods on Oct. 26.
“I came out because I wanted to support my great uncle because he was a veteran of war,” said Evaley Gall, a leading cadet with the 33 Moose Jaw Navy League. Gall was stationed at the entrance to 麻豆传媒AV Hill Fine Foods along with four other cadets for the first day of the poppy campaign.
The poppy campaign runs from the last Friday in October until Remembrance Day. Each year, tens of millions of Canadians wear a poppy in a visual pledge to honour Canada’s military veterans and to remember those who made sacrifices serving the country.
Poppies are not offered for sale, but are free to take with a voluntary donation of each individual’s own choosing. All proceeds are added to the Legion’s Poppy Fund.
The Poppy Trust Funds maintained by the Legion are locally run campaigns and all proceeds remain in the community where they were raised. The fund may be used for housing accommodations, food, prescription medication, medical needs, transportation costs, or other financial needs faced by Canada’s veterans.
Cynthia Starchuk is a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces and now volunteers her time to support the cadet corps. “I served in the Canadian Air Force here in Moose Jaw... and I volunteer my time with the cadet corps. We’ve got not only the Navy League Cadet Corps, but our Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps, and there’s the Army Cadets and Air Cadets… (who are) part of the kickoff to the Poppy Campaign.
“I am not what people think of a veteran, because I’m not a World War II veteran,” she said. “But we have friends, and lost friends, who have been in Afghanistan or who are suffering from severe injuries and the Poppy Fund can help them have a better life because of their injuries. (Knowing this) makes me feel better.
“We also have a huge homelessness issue with veterans and there’s a lot of traumatic brain injury (cases) and so (the campaign) is significant. (The issues our veterans face is) more than what people realize.”
Stefan Norman was one of the Navy League cadets attending the poppy campaign at Fine Foods. Norman said he originally signed up for the campaign because his dad told him to do something useful over the weekend and the experience succeeded — it had him reflecting on his family’s military experience. “Most of my family served during World War II,” he said.
To get your poppy in honour of Canada’s military veterans, stop by the Royal Canadian Legion or look for poppy sale boxes at participating local businesses.
For more information on the annual Poppy Campaign, visit .
The Poppy Campaign will continue until Nov. 11.
