The time of year to go red for remembrance
By Chris Simon

Photo by Chris Simon Royal Canadian Legion Branch 547 president Ed Collins, left, and poppy campaign chair Bill Hubbard hold a few of the little red synthetic flowers. The legion's annual poppy campaign began at several local schools and businesses last week. Over the last 10 years, the legion has raised over $160,000 for charity.

Those familiar red flowers are already out in bloom.

The Royal Canadian Legion branch 547's annual poppy campaign is underway across Innisfil and southern Barrie. Throughout the next two weeks, donation boxes piled with the little red remembrance symbols will be at local stores and schools.

But it's not just the poppies that are being used for remembrance. In local schools, students will be participating in poster, writing and public speaking contests, while veterans will volunteer to speak about their wartime experiences at six different sites. About 10,000 poppies are also distributed to students, without a request for donation, at schools throughout the branch district.

The campaign is the only formal way the legion raises funds each year. And while the poppies are technically free, a donation is requested from the general public. Over the last 10 years, the branch has raised over $160,000, money that is donated for equipment at Royal Victoria Hospital, student bursaries and various veteran assistance programs like Meals on Wheels, the Innisfil Fire and Rescue Service and Sunnybrook Veterans Hospital, said branch president Ed Collins.

Last year, the branch raised over $28,500 from the campaign.

However, the Legion does not receive direct funding through poppy campaign donations, said Collins.

"It is not a fundraiser, it is a campaign to raise funds for the veterans and their families, not anything to do with the branch," he said. "The money goes into a trust fund and we're only able to spend it after we have got permission from (Legion) command."

Poppy campaign chair Bill Hubbard agrees.

"Poppy money is strictly controlled. If somebody's buying a poppy, somebody's not using that money to sit at a bar," he said. "Our goal is to try to do better than we did last year, the more we raise, the more we can put out to the hospitals and the fire department. All this medical equipment is pretty expensive."

The poppies help people remember the sacrifices made by veterans, as well as the currently enlisted members of the Canadian armed forces, said Hubbard.

"What's important is the troops we have oversees now," he said. "There's a lot of them getting killed and injured, and their families are going to need assistance. It's important they be remembered as well."

Preparations are also underway for the branch's Remembrance Day ceremony Nov. 11. A minister will be in attendance to speak about the necessity of remembrance, while a short parade of veterans and pipes and drums march from Arnold Street to the branch. Two minutes of silence will be taken at 11 a.m., followed by the trumpet of bugles and the setting of wreaths on the branch's cenotaph. Lunch will be served after the ceremony.

In total, about 200 people are expected to attend the service.