The Royal Canadian Legion is continuing its tradition of honouring and remembering all those men and women who have served and continue to serve this country and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
The Legion reminds Canadians that poppies should be worn starting the last Friday in October to Remembrance Day, November 11th.
The annual Poppy Campaign is officially underway, with over 1,400 branches distributing tens of millions of poppies right across the country.
One of those branches is West Ferris Legion Branch 599. Its members have packed and delivered poppy boxes to 80 locations throughout the area they represent in North Bay.
Poppy campaign chair Earl Gagnon says donations have remained consistent over the years.
"In previous years we've raised around $6,000 or $7,000. I don't think the money we've taken in over the years has changed much. Money raised goes to veterans or their dependents who are in need."
Len Davis is the Veterans Service Officer for the branch. He has spent the past 10 years volunteering with the campaign.
"It's very important to me to see people wearing a poppy, not just because I'm a veteran, but because I see the number of veterans we've been helping. As a matter of fact, we had a veteran just last week that had all kinds of dental problems and he couldn't pay to get it all fixed, so we helped him by paying for the dental services."
But the help doesn't stop there.
"We help with the down and out, the veterans on the street who don't have a home or a place to go. We try to find suitable accommodations for them. We had one person who could pay for his monthly rent but he didn't have first and last, so we picked that up for him so he could get off the street and have a roof over his head," said Davis
"We help with other things too, like wheelchairs and walkers. We work in conjunction with the Department of Veterans Affairs Canada in a lot of cases because we can't provide the big dollars."
Legion members are often found visiting schools at this time of year, explaining to the children the significance of Remembrance Day and the importance of wearing a poppy.
"We try to educate the young people in the schools, as a matter of fact, we visit schools and speak to the kids throughout the entire campaign. We bring poppies and the kids do different things to get involved in the campaign. They write poems and stories and do paintings. We educate them about the First World War and the peacekeeping that we have going on continuously," explains Davis.
The vibrant red poppy, found growing in battlefields, inspired the famous wartime poem 'In Flanders Fields' written in May of 1915 during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae.
Poppies are an international symbol of remembrance.
By making a donation and wearing a poppy, we are reminded of the sacrifices made for our freedom, and the help and support needed by some veterans today.
Lest we forget.
