Without divine intervention, the Collingwood Legion’s 2020 poppy campaign won’t raise what it usually does for Veterans.
Poppy Chair Hans Muller said the campaign is underway with boxes at many Collingwood stores and at town hall. Some groups have made donations to the local poppy campaign already, including Collingwood and The Blue Mountains OPP, Reliabuild, and Agnora.
But it’s still unlikely to amount to the $38,000 to $40,000 raised each year for the past few years in Collingwood.
“Unless something miraculous happens, I don’t expect we will reach that,” said Muller.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no in-person selling this year, and that means no cadets, veterans or volunteers will be in front of popular stores selling tags.
“It’s too risky,” said Muller.
He has kept his volunteers down this year too, with only two people handling the poppies and their distribution. He said they’ve also been careful to sanitize as they packed the poppies and prepped them for local stores.
The legion’s poppy fund is used to support veterans. In some cases, veterans will approach the local legion in need of help, and can receive money from the fund. In other cases, money is donated to charities that help veterans.
Last year, the Collingwood Legion gave about $24,000 from the poppy fund to charities. This year, Muller said that might have to be a little less.
The legion keeps the poppy fund topped up in case it is required for a veteran, so Muller isn’t worried this year will likely be leaner than usual.
More importantly, he said, is that people remember, which is what the poppy stands for.
This year, most will have to mark Nov. 11 from home. A select few members of the legion will be laying wreaths at the Collingwood cenotaph, but there will be no public service and no parade.
If you would like to make a donation to the poppy fund or would like a box of poppies for your business, you can email Hans Muller at [email protected].
