As November approaches, it will not be long before poppies start showing up on lapels around the Yorkton area.
The Royal Canadian Legion’s 2015 poppy campaign officially launches on Friday. The red poppy, which originally became associated with war dead during World War I blossoming in the battlefields of Belgium, France and Gallipoli, it is an enduring and venerable reminder of the 117,000 Canadians who have died in the service of their country during two world wars, the Korean War and other conflicts around the world.
Tag Day, the first day of the campaign when cadets, scouts and cubs are out around town with their boxes is Saturday October 31. After that, poppies will be available businesses and other locations all around the city.
Veterans Week runs from Thursday, November 5 (on which the flag will be raised at City Hall) until November 11, Remembrance Day.
Remembrance Day ceremonies are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on the 11th.
Poppy sales are by donation, although a person would not be denied a poppy if he could not afford to make a donation. The Legion also distributes poppies free to school children to encourage the perpetuation of the tradition among new generations.
Last year the poppy campaign brought in a total of $34,035. Of that, $20,852 was from poppy sales, $12,240 from wreath sales, and $961.50 through donations to the Poppy Trust Fund.
Donations were given to the following organizations:
$5,000 to the Health Foundation toward the purchase of a new CT Scanner.
$3,000 to Leave the Streets Behind, a Legion program to get homeless veterans off the streets.
$3,000 to Power in Me, a Legion program helping veterans deal with mental health issues.
$2,000 to the Dundurn Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC).
$2,000 to the 17 Wing Moose Jaw MFRC.
$1,000 for the SIGN Seniors Mobility Car.
$1,000 to 2834 64th Field Battery Royal Canadian Artillery Cadet Corps.
$1,000 to 17 Squadron Royal Canadian Air Cadet Corps.
$1,000 to 103 Margaree Navy League Cadet Corps.
$1,000 to 114 Orkney Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps.
$1,000 Yorkton and District Nursing Home.
$2,500 in bursaries of $500 each to Sacred Heart and Yorkton Regional high school students.
$540 in prizes for first, second and third places in the Legion’s Remembrance Day Literary Contest.
Poppy Etiquette
• A Poppy should be worn on your left breast, over the heart.
• Poppies should only be worn between the last Friday in October and sundown on Nov. 11.
• It is perfectly acceptable to replace the pin in your poppy with a Canadian flag. The legion’s Poppy Campaign uses L-shaped pins rather than pins with a back in order to keep costs down.
• After being worn, poppies should either be attached to a wreath at your local cenotaph following a Remembrance Day ceremony, or stored at home.
• There are no rules about displaying poppies at home; that’s a purely personal choice
