Poppies will be popping about town soon, as Callander’s Legion has officially launched its 2024 poppy campaign. Legion Branch 445 President Richard Rhindress pinned the first poppy onto Callander’s Mayor Robb Noon on Friday morning to mark the start of the annual campaign.
“The Poppy Campaign is the foundation of our Remembrance Program,” Rhindress emphasized. He detailed how 389 Legions took part last year across Ontario alone, with a total membership of 95,300 in the province. Across Canada, last year’s campaign raised $9,520,305 for our veterans.
All money raised locally will stay local, noted Amanda Hiscock, Second Vice President of Branch 445. “We’re very grateful for our community, and the help they do for our poppy fund,” she said, “we’ve helped so many veterans over the past year,” thanks to the community’s generosity during the poppy campaign.
Callander’s Legion Branch 445 also serves Bonfield and East Ferris veterans.
“We’re hoping to do more this year,” Hiscock added. There are 147 veterans at the Callander Legion, Hiscock detailed, and about 300 in the area the Legion serves. Most veterans involved with her branch served in Korea and Afghanistan, and two fought in WWII, Hiscock said.
“I’m always honoured to be here,” Mayor Noon said of the day’s launch. “It’s an important time of the year, and our community really gets behind the campaign. There’s always a great turnout on November 11th,” he added.
The Legion emphasized that “it is through the Poppy Campaign and the generosity of our fellow citizens that, in addition to providing assistance to Veterans and their families, we foster the Tradition of Remembrance amongst our youth, the leaders of tomorrow.”
Moreso, “all of us must strive to never forget this solemn undertaking — it is part of the debt that we owe to those who have gone before.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
