Poppy Campaign

We, as members of the the Royal Canadian Legion, strive to keep the memory alive of the 117,000 Canadian men and women who paid the supreme sacrifice in the service of Canada during war and on subsequent operation since Korea. This goal is achieved through our annual poppy campaign and the remembrance day services organized by this great organzation throughout the country and by our fellow citizens who are working far from our shores.

Poppy trust funds may be used for the following purposes

Any person who is serving or who has honourably served in the Canadian Forces and dependants who are in need of assistance; the promotion of remembrance of the sacrifices of Veterans
The award of bursaries to students who are children, grandchildren or great grandchildren of any of the personnel who are in need of assistance
The purchase of poppies, wreaths, canvassing supplies and promotional material for the annual poppy campaign
Distrbution of poppy and remembrance material, as authorzed by Dominion Command to be used in schools
Prizes for literary and poster contests; and comforts for Veterans their widows/widowers who are hospitalized, in longterm care facilities, in a nursing home or who are incapacitated and being cared for at home

The poppy campaign is the foundation of our remembrance program. We provide Canadians with the opportunity to remember by providing them with a poppy and to participate at remembrance day services. But our rememberance activity goes far beyond the two weeks leading up to November 11th each year. Canadians are generous when they see our poppy volunteers on the street and the collection trays in the stores.

As a result of this generosity, we are able to ensure that Veterans and their dependants are cared for and treated with the respect that they deserve. The willingness to participate in the poppy campaign was one of the obligations we undertook when we became members of the Royal Canadian Legion. All of us must strive to never forget this solemn undertaking - it is part of the debt that we owe to those who who have gone before.

It is through the poppy campaign and the generosity of our fellow citizens that, in addition to providing assistance to Veterans and their dependants, we foster the tradition of the remembrance amongst our youth, the leaders of tomorrow.

Our movtivation is simple and John McCrae's famous lines can never be repeated often enough: "To you from failing hands we throw the torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die, we shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flanders Fields." These words are our motivation and strength.