Monday, November 11 will be a special day, as we recognize Canadian Armed Forces members, past, and present. In the lead-up to Remembrance Day, the annual poppy campaign is underway.
In Lethbridge, the campaign officially kicked off on Saturday, October 26.
Poppy boxes are set up at stores around the city, with local youth groups helping hand them out. Poppies are free to pick up, however donations are welcome.
Glenn Miller with the Royal Canadian Legion General Stewart Branch No. 4 in Lethbridge says funds raised during the campaign will assist local veterans in need.
“All those [funds] are put into a Trust,” Miller notes.
“There’s a specific set of rules that are established by the Royal Canadian Legion across Canada and they [funds] can only be used for those types of purposes – medical devices, veterans in need and their families, health support systems for veterans – all kinds of good stuff like that which really does make a difference [and] makes an impact helping out a veteran in their time of need.”
Miller says wearing a poppy carries a lot of significance.
“By wearing the poppy, you’re showing a visible act of remembrance,” he remarks.
“It’s actually for those who have laid down their lives for the service of Canada – not just in war, but also during their service in peacetime.”
Miller adds that in recent years, he has sometimes seen a lack of individuals wearing poppies. But he believes that might be due to a lack of awareness or education.
“After the First World War, poppies were done by veterans as vet crafts as a form of fundraising. After World War Two, the impact [on] Canadians across Canada – each family was impacted in some way, shape or form,” he says.
“Today, most Canadians aren’t really impacted in a military connection. There’s roughly 70,000 people in the military but coast to coast, we just don’t see that connection. It’s harder for new generation Canadians, too. Some don’t know what a poppy is. We have to educate them as part of our civic duty – not only to wear it through the poppy campaign but also to help educate people who don’t know the poppy, what it stands for, and take pride in wearing that poppy.”
Over the years, Miller has taken time speaking with local school children and teaching them about the meaning of the poppy, as well as different acts and figures of remembrance.
Each year, the Legion hosts a nationwide contest for youth, inspiring their creativity through writing, visual art and video work. The National Youth Remembrance Contests feature a poster design competition, a literary contest that invites students to write essays and/or poems on the theme of Remembrance, and an original video competition.
This year also marks the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 100th anniversary. Miller encourages everyone to learn more about the country’s military history.
