Poppies support people
Funds from Royal Canadian Legion poppy campaigns go to local veterans, youth across P.E.I.
The purchase of a poppy can go far as people donate a few cents or dollars and pin their poppies on a jacket lapel to mark Remembrance Day.
That donation goes to a Poppy Fund which raises money for Royal Canadian Legion branches, which then uses it to support veterans and youth in their districts. Prince Edward Island command vice-president and poppy chairperson Jack MacIsaac says these campaigns are the single largest donation drivers for legion branches.
And while veteran demographics are changing, support has not waned. MacIsaac says Remembrance Day continues to be important across the province as people donate to their legion branches and remember the sacrifices made to protect their freedoms.
“When you see the public support year after year, it gives hope. Support has been stable in Charlottetown over the past years and it continues to be so — it is just so amazing to see,” says MacIsaac.
HELPING VETERANS AND YOUTH
As the poppy campaign's provincial chair, MacIsaac helps individual legion branches oversee their respective campaigns ahead of Remembrance Day.
Each branch retains their campaign's funds in trust and then uses it with permission from the legion's provincial command to support initiatives and projects that help veterans and youth. None of the money raised is put towards branch operational costs.
Such initiatives often include bursaries for local students heading into post-secondary education and annual support of cadet programs, as well as veterans support in the form of hospital visits and financial support for health care or home costs. MacIsaac says his Charlottetown branch also donates to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown and Meals on Wheels, which provides affordable meals to veterans and others who are unable to care for themselves.
And it is all thanks to those donations and poppies, which MacIsaac says are the only funding system legion branches use to raise these funds.
“The generosity of islanders is great. They do tend to support the legions really well and have always supported their veterans,” says MacIsaac.
COUNTRYWIDE PROJECTS
MacIsaac says new dominion initiatives — those that happen across all Royal Canadian Legion branches — also exist as a countrywide framework for how best to support Canadian veterans and that planning is underway for new initiatives like funding for veterans' support dogs and the creation of an emergency fund at each provincial command for homeless veterans. MacIsaac says the Royal Canadian Legion is also working as a whole on how to best serve veterans of varying ages, as people who've served in conflict zones overseas now represent a large percentage of Canadian veterans.
While attracting younger crowds, whether veterans or patrons, to the legion can be challenging, MacIsaac says it is of huge importance since serving and supporting this growing demographic of veterans is vital, particularly with those facing challenges including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “Traditional veterans are getting older and modern veterans are becoming more numerous. These people require help now and we're doing our best and getting to them,” he says.
NEW GENERATION OF VETERANS
MacIsaac says these support initiatives and the bursaries for youth are why giving back by means of a poppy donation is an act that carries much meaning around Remembrance Day.
“Donate what you can — any amount, no matter how small, is appreciated. The money is used in the best way possible and legion branches can always use help,” says MacIsaac.
He says those unable to donate but who wish to help can give back in other ways, including by donating their time by volunteering. Anyone from the general public, whether a veteran or legion member or not, can volunteer to help with the poppy campaign or at any time at their legion branch.
MacIsaac says this time of year is the legion's busiest for donations, as people are thinking of those actively serving and those who have served in the past. With few Second World War veterans remaining in Prince Edward Island but young veterans growing in numbers, MacIsaac feels certain veterans will receive much support in the years to come. “[Veterans have] done and sacrificed so much, so we should continue to support Remembrance Week and whenever we can throughout the year. And with our Remembrance Day ceremonies being so well attended, it looks like we're really hitting the right vein,” says MacIsaac.