Boxes of poppies are popping up at local grocery stores and realtors as the annual fundraising campaign kicked off Friday, running through Remembrance Day on Nov. 11.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
Poppy donation boxes are now at Medicine Hat grocery stores and retailers as the 2025 Poppy Campaign is on through Remembrance Day on Nov. 11.
Each year, the Poppy Campaign encourages Canadians to wear a poppy in remembrance of those who have served and sacrificed for the country, defending the freedoms and way of life cherished today.
“The poppy represents a sacred trust of Canadians to remember the sacrifices that Canada’s veterans have made on behalf of the country,” said David Klug, spokesperson, Royal Canadian Legion, Alberta-NWT Command. “By wearing a poppy, it signifies remembrance.”
The annual campaign is the Canadian Legion’s most significant annual fundraising event despite poppies not actually being sold. Canadians are encouraged to make a donation when they pick up a poppy, and 100 per cent of proceeds will go directly to support Canadian Veterans and their families.
Klug says those donations are vital for veterans who may find it difficult to adjust to civilian life after serving in the military.
“You can see veterans that are being released from the forces, some are fine, and many are not,” he said. “They have lived a different life than most Canadians live. They are constantly being taken away from their families on deployment. They have endured, they’ve witnessed some pretty horrendous acts.
“Some have seen their comrades succumb to PTSD as a result of their service, and so when they come out of the forces, they really do need help … Many of them have suffered some sort of physical and emotional injury as a result of their service, it can be hearing loss, it can be battered bodies from the training and the work they’ve had to do.”
Last year, $3 million was raised through the sale of poppies in Alberta, with $1.5 million directly supporting veterans with housing, food and mental health support, as well as pension access and other benefits they are entitled to.
The remaining $1.5 million was used for research and health programs for vets and their families, especially to help fund virtual reality post traumatic stress treatment research at the University of Alberta.
“It’s very high-tech, it’s an expensive treatment, but it helps veterans who can’t get past certain points in their treatment dealing with PTSD to really help heal some of that PTSD,” explains Klug.
The city will host its annual Remembrance Day service at the Esplanade Arts & Heritage Centre on Nov. 11 with doors opening at 8:30 a.m. and the ceremony at 9:25 a.m.
Following the ceremony, veterans, service members, cadets and members of the Royal Canadian Legion Robertson Memorial Medicine Hat Branch No. 17 will participate in the annual Remembrance Day March along First Street SE to Riverside Veterans Memorial Park, where a ceremony will be held at the cenotaph at 11 a.m.
Klug reminds Hatters that a poppy is generally worn over the left side of your chest and should not be altered in any way or obstructed.
Typically, at the end of a Remembrance Day ceremony, after the unknown soldier has been moved to the front of the cenotaph, the public will leave their poppy in respect.
According to Klug, this actually happened spontaneously over time with the public and is not part of the official ceremony, but has become a public tradition to honour Canadian veterans.
To help Albertans, the Legion is also placing boxes with credit-card tap machines at specific stores to accept cashless donations.
“Funds that Canadians donate really do help, and they’re needed,” said Klug.
