The Drumheller Legion is grateful for the support of the community for not forgetting the veterans during this year’s Poppy Drive.
The annual Poppy Drive precedes Remembrance Day and supports the Poppy Fund. This fund supports veterans and their families and all the funds are used locally. While this year, the Remembrance Day ceremony was much smaller than usual due to COVID-19, there were also concerns that the Poppy Fund would also suffer. Legion President Gary Boucher tells the Mail this is not the case.
“It was outstanding this year. I am so proud of this town,” said Boucher. “This was our best year.”
He said the donation boxes at local businesses did well, but there were also members of the community who stepped up to the plate.
“We had a lot of donations come in this year where people directly donated to the Poppy Fund, some were anonymous and just wanted to make a donation,” said Boucher.
He says he doesn’t have the final figure yet because they are still making deposits, but he figures they are ahead of last year by a few thousand dollars.
“I am very proud to be the president of the Legion in this town. People have really stepped up for us,” said Boucher. “This is for veterans and their families, and this year, with all that is going on (Covid-19), we are out there for our members.”
Along with veterans and their families, they help to support the sea cadets.
“As a Legion, it is our responsibility to help out the cadet corps. They haven’t been able to do any raffles or anything, so the Poppy Fund helps them,” said Boucher.
COVID-19 continues to pose a challenge to the local Legion. While they were able to open the club room, new restrictions have made it a little bit harder.
“With the cancellation of pool, darts and cribbage, income was really helping us, as well as Capture the President and the meat draws,” he said. “We weren’t getting them, and most of our members being older and living in the manors, they are not going to come out. This way we will still have a half-decent bank account when we reopen and keep the Legion viable.”