Poppy-makers ramp up for appeal
Annual fundraiser increasingly important for helping younger veterans, says RSA
Production is ramping up in a tiny Christchurch factory as volunteers work to finish the final poppies for next month’s Poppy Day appeal. With 95 years of history, the Returned and Services’ Association’s (RSA) annual Poppy Day collection is one of New Zealand’s oldest street appeals.
On Friday, April 21 collectors will be out shaking the bucket and asking Kiwis to donate to the cause.
The money raised by the RSA will be used to support the needs of New Zealand’s 41,000 veterans — from World War II, Vietnam and those still serving today — and their families, whether or not they’re members of an RSA.
“This is the one opportunity for RSAs to raise funds through the Poppy Appeal and that money is very important to allow support to not only the older veterans, but particularly the younger veterans who we are finding more and more require our support,” RSA National President BJ Clark said.
The funds are used to help with dental bills, glasses and mobility scooters, and assisting younger veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI) to find support.
“People think that perhaps the RSA has had its day, that the older veterans are passing away, and unfortunately they are, but [we’re finding] the younger veterans now, with things like PTSI, they certainly need our assistance and we can’t forget [the service] they are doing is as valuable as the previous veterans,” Clark said.
Christchurch RSA has had New Zealand’s Anzac poppy contract for the past three years.
Volunteers make at least 1.25 million of the iconic red badges every year, using a special machine de- signed and built in the city.
Christchurch RSA president Pete Dawson said the idea for the machine “came over a beer” between a veteran and former electromechanical engineer now aged 96.
The University of Canterbury produced some concept plans, and then the RSA enlisted the help of a local engineer and toolmaker to produce the device.
Now, at its factory in Belfast on the northern outskirts of Christchurch, volunteers can produce a perfect poppy every 3.5 seconds.
The first Poppy Day in New Zealand was held on April 24, 1922.
Donations to the 2015 Poppy Appeal — marking the centenary of the Gallipoli landings — were the highest ever, with $2.5m raised.
To donate: rsa.org.nz/donation