A global pandemic may be stopping communities from gathering at the Cenotaph to honour veterans this Remembrance Day, but it won’t stop people from wearing a poppy as a visual pledge to honour our veterans.
The local Legion Poppy Campaign has officially kicked off in Quesnel after the city’s mayor and councillors received the first poppies of 2020.
Royal Canadian Legion Branch 94 president Jim Spencer and service officer Ian Campbell presented the symbolic poppy to Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson at the beginning of the Oct. 27 council meeting to kick off the Legion’s annual Poppy Campaign for 2020.
“Following the tradition of launching the Poppy Campaign on the last Friday in October, poppies will be available across the country as Canadians honour and remember those who served and sacrificed,” Campbell told council. “Several changes will be implemented, both in response to the global pandemic and to continue modernizing the ways in which donors can support the Poppy Campaign.”
Campbell says donations to the local Poppy Fund stay in Quesnel to support the urgent needs of veterans in our community.
Donations can be made at any poppy tray around the community or at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 94 office, which is open Tuesday to Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to noon at 262 Kinchant St.
Royal Canadian Legion Branch 94 has already announced that, due to COVID-19 restrictions and protocols, there will be no public Remembrance Day ceremony this year, but Legion members will lay wreaths at the Quesnel Cenotaph, and residents are encouraged to observe two minutes of silence Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. to honour, thank and remember the men and women who have served and continue to serve our country.
READ MORE: Quesnel Remembrance Day ceremonies on hold for 2020
editor@quesnelobserver.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter