La campagne du coquelicot 2025 de la Légion royale canadienne a débuté le 31 octobre et se poursuivra jusqu’au 11 novembre (Photo : K-J Millar/Shilo Stag News)
K-J Millar
Shilo Stag Media
More than $61,000 was raised in the annual Brandon Royal Canadian Legion Branch 3 (RCL) Poppy Campaign in 2024. The organization hopes to exceed that amount in 2025, with a shorter timeframe for the campaign this year, Cindy Stumme, Poppy Campaign Co-Chair, said on October 30.
To everything there is a season – like flowers blooming in spring. However, poppies blooming over the hearts of many in November are a reflection of remembrance and sacrifice. These poppy emblems are provided by the Royal Canadian Legion and were originally hand-made by Veterans.
October 31, the last Friday in the month, marked the start of the annual Royal Canadian Legion Poppy Campaign. With the start date being the last day in October, the campaign duration to raise funds for Veterans’ programs is shorter this year until Nov. 11.
Stumme said Brandon Branch 3 started its first Poppy campaign 99 years ago. The local branch, as well as the national Royal Canadian Legion, will be celebrating its centenary in 2026.
Funds generated from contributions toward poppies stay in the communities where they are raised, supporting numerous organizations and programs.
“Poppies are not sold,” Stumme said. “We accept donations.”
One significant program the Poppy Fund assists, which Stumme would like people to support, is the No Stone Left Alone Memorial Foundation. Each year, the Legion branch provides poppies for the program where school students attend Remembrance ceremonies, learning about honour, sacrifice, and ensuring every gravestone of military personnel is not left alone without a poppy.
A point of honour and pride is that Brandon has the second-largest attendance in the country each year, she said.
The Branch 3 poppy fund supported numerous local programs throughout the past year, with a first-time allocation of $1,500 in response to a special request from active military personnel overseas. Memorial wreaths were sent to Poland and Ukraine for special Remembrance services with Joint Task Force members.
Money generated by the Poppy Campaign is held in trust for many different causes, and active military family members at CFB Shilo have received some of the benefits, with $2,000 being received by the Military Family Resource Centre (MFRC) for the Hold Me Tight program and $7,000 for a diaper bag and rucksack initiative. Brandon RCL Branch 3 provided $8,000 to the MFRC for family information packs and another $2,500 toward toys for the daycare program.
Eight students received a $1,000 bursary each because they had a parent or grandparent in the military. St. John Ambulance purchased new Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) with a $4,700 contribution from the Poppy Fund. An additional $6,900 was allocated to emergency responders for trauma bags and wound training packs.
The list is extensive, the Poppy Co-chair said, with Dinsdale Personal Care home receiving $5,140 for mechanical lifts for Veterans living in the facility. As well, each of the four cadet corps in the area received $1,000 each.
The Seniors for Seniors food security program ensured recipients were fed, with $10,000 allocated to offset 50 per cent of the meals served.
“Not enough people realize the amount of work that is done in Brandon supporting our Veterans …The majority of funds that come in to help them stems from the Poppy Campaign.”
More than 100 volunteers have set up around Brandon for the yearly distribution of the floral emblem, first initiated in 1919 after the poem “In Flanders Fields” was published. Considered to be one of the best wartime poems, it was written in 1915 by John McRae, a Canadian doctor who served in the First World War.
“Poppy sitters” will be staffing booths at various locations. The Brandon RCL Branch 3 has more than 250 poppy boxes throughout Brandon and the area for the public to obtain a poppy. These do not include ones distributed by cadets or at the poppy booths.
For the first time in 2025, the Canadian Armed Forces has approved the wearing of beaded poppies with the uniform. The Royal Canadian Legion has these available on the website (***add hyperlink here) or at the local branches. Many other poppy-related items are available at the branches, such as wreaths, lawn signs, and an extensive array of poppy goods.
Plus de 100 bénévoles de la filiale 3 de la Légion royale canadienne de Brandon participent à la campagne annuelle du coquelicot, qui se déroule du 31 octobre au 11 novembre. (Photo : K-J Millar/Shilo Stag News)
