Bancroft Royal Canadian Legion members will be at several local stores this week, collecting donations for the Poppy Campaign.
Legion President Larry Shattraw says the campaign is off to a great start. He says about 15 Legion members are on site with the donation boxes, (the highest turnout of volunteers in several years), giving the campaign the personal touch that’s needed to bring in donations.
“When you’re standing in front of a store with a Legion uniform on, people really take note of that, and help out quite a bit with a donation,” he says.
Shattraw adds last year’s campaign raised about $12,000, a sharp increase from the pandemic years, when volunteers couldn’t be on site. Shattraw believes this year’s campaign could bring in about the same.
He says poppy funds can go to several different causes, including services that help senior veterans and youth groups that have connections to the Canadian Forces. Last year, proceeds supported Hastings Centennial Manor, Hospice North Hastings and the Bancroft Sea Cadets group.
Shattraw says a decision on which groups will benefit from this year’s campaign has not been made yet, but he expects it will support a similar mix of causes.