Poppy Campaign
2023 POPPY CAMPAIGN
Every year, The Royal Canadian Legion conducts the Poppy campaign, along with thousands of our members who volunteer from coast to coast to coast, to raise funds in support of Veterans and their families. Poppies are distributed freely, but your generous donations are invaluable.
The RMR Association (Legion Branch 14) will be conducting the annual poppy campaign in Westmount from 27 October – 10 November 2023, with kiosks at the IGA Alexis-Nihon, 5 Saisons on Greene Avenue, as well as Metro Grocers on Victoria Avenue. Volunteers welcome, contact info@royalmontrealregiment.com.
Contributions received from the Poppy campaign directly support Veterans and their families, and ensure Canada never forgets.
Use of Poppy Trust Funds
Through your donations to the Legion Poppy Fund, the Legion provides financial assistance and support to Veterans, including Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP, and their families who are in need. Poppy Funds may be used for:
Grants for food, heating costs, clothing, prescription medication, medical appliances and equipment, essential home repairs and emergency shelter or assistance
Housing accommodation and care facilities
Funding for Veteran Transition Programs that are directly related to the training, education and support needs of Veterans and their families
Comforts for Veterans and their surviving spouses who are hospitalized and in need
Veterans visits, transportation, reading programs and day trips
Accessibility modifications to assist Veterans with disabilities
Educational bursaries for children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Veterans
Support of cadet units
Community drop-in centres, meals-on-wheels, and seniors services in communities where Veterans would benefit
Community medical appliances, medical training and medical research which will assist in the care of Veterans in the community
Support the work of Legion Command and Branch Service Officers across Canada in assisting and representing Veterans
Donations for relief of disasters declared by federal or provincial governments which impact Veteran in those communities
Promotion and administering of Remembrance activities to ensure Canadians never forget the sacrifices of Canada’s Veterans
Poppy Trust Fund Administration
The Poppy Campaign is organized and run by local Legion volunteers at over 1,400 branches across Canada and abroad. In Westmount, Quebec it is the RMR Association (Branch 14) who is responsible for the Poppy Campaign. Poppy Funds are held in trust at every level of the Legion and the use of these trust funds are strictly controlled, with appropriate approval processes. Branch executives are accountable for Poppy Fund expenditures and are required to inform the public through local media of the results of their campaign, including contributions received and disposition of funds. Contact info@royalmontrealregiment.com to request information on the RMR Association (Branch 14) Poppy Campaign.
History of the Poppy
(Source: Legion.ca) Each November, Poppies bloom on the lapels and collars of millions of Canadians. The significance of the Poppy can be traced back to the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century, over 110 years before being adopted in Canada. Records from that time indicate how thick Poppies grew over the graves of soldiers in the area of Flanders, France. Fields that had been barren before battle exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended. During the tremendous bombardments of the war, the chalk soils became rich in lime from rubble, allowing the “popaver rhoeas” to thrive. When the war ended, the lime was quickly absorbed and the Poppy began to disappear again.
The person who first introduced the Poppy to Canada and the Commonwealth was Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae of Guelph, Ontario, a Canadian Medical Officer during the First World War. John McCrae penned the Poem “In Flanders Fields” on a scrap of paper in May, 1915 on the day following the death of a fellow soldier. Little did he know then that those 13 lines would become enshrined in the hearts and minds of all who would wear them. McCrae’s poem was published in Punch Magazine in December of that same year, and the poem later served as inspiration three years later for Moina Michael, an American teacher. Moina Michael made a pledge to always wear a Poppy as a sign of Remembrance.
During a visit to the United States in 1920, a French woman named Madame Guerin learned of the custom. Madame Guerin decided to make and sell poppies to raise money for children in war-torn areas of France. The Great War Veteran’s Association in Canada (our predecessor) officially adopted the poppy as its Flower of Remembrance on July 5, 1921.
Today, the Poppy is worn each year during the Remembrance period to honour Canada’s Fallen. The Legion also encourages the wearing of a Poppy for the funeral of a Veteran and for any commemorative event honouring Fallen Veterans. It is not inappropriate to wear a Poppy during other times to commemorate Fallen Veterans and it is an individual choice to do so, as long as it’s worn appropriately.
Thanks to the millions of Canadians who wear the Legion’s lapel Poppy each November, the little red flower has never died, and the memories of those who fell in battle remain strong.
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae
~ May 3, 1915
(As published in Punch Magazine, December 8, 1915)
