Interest in secure poppy boxes growing
The use of a Cochrane man’s theft-proof poppy fund collection box has moved into B.C., after scoring victories in his hometown.
But former Stampede Wrestling star Dan Kroffat is grappling with how to get the boxes into Calgary, where the city’s Poppy Fund campaign was launched last weekend.
“It would be easy to find a sponsor for them, but it needs approval from Royal Canadian Legion command,” said Kroffat.
After raising funds to replace money that gets stolen from poppy fund boxes located on restaurant and retail counters, Kroffat decided to go a step further.
He designed a collection container that couldn’t be lifted by heartless or desperate thieves.
The result was a sliding matchbox container, produced by a Cochrane manufacturer, that’s tethered to a vendor’s counter.
The 50 boxes supplied to Cochrane businesses did more than just end thefts, said Kroffat.
“Once people realized the boxes couldn’t be stolen, they (the boxes) were no longer just getting loonies or toonies; people were putting in $5, $10, $50, even $100 bills,” said Kroffat, adding $48,000 was raised for the cause of veterans’ support in the town last year.
“These boxes are fundraisers themselves.”
They’ve attracted the attention of a sponsor in Summerland B.C. — a U.S. navy veteran — who has procured 50 of the boxes, while more are headed to Williams Lake in that province, said Kroffat.
“We have a bit of a grassroots initiative,” he said.
With the help of sponsor Cochrane Toyota, the number of the boxes in Cochrane has increased to 70 this year.
Kroffat admitted it’s odd that the solution to poppy fund thefts hasn’t spread to Calgary.
But he said it’s something that could go Canada-wide, with the resulting increase in donations taking a bite out of veteran homelessness and poverty.
“If we could get 30 per cent or more annually across Canada, it can bring veterans off the street,” he said.
Right now, each composite metal box costs $35 to manufacture, said Kroffat, but if produced en mass, that price tag drops to $3.
An official with the Royal Canadian Legion couldn’t be reached Tuesday.
But last weekend at a ceremony marking the start of the Poppy Fund campaign, regional Legion command executive director Tammy Wheeler said the theft problem was an ongoing one.
“We don’t have a good system yet that stops (it),” said Wheeler. “People that really want to steal it are going to take it. If they really need help, come and see us. We’ve got lots of agencies around we can send them to.”