By Harold Rodenberger
During pre-pandemic times, veterans in soldiers’ homes and VA hospitals would assemble the Buddy Poppies© that we distribute on Memorial Day, Veterans Day and throughout the year. Donations from recipients of these poppies go to our Relief Fund, where the money is used to support our mission of caring for comrades in distress and other charitable works.
Because of the virus, this year the normal veteran assembly lines became impossible so our VFW National Commander in Chief asked local post members to assemble poppies. Our post was one of many who stepped up. We requested 100,000 sets of poppies parts and our volunteers have been busy for the past two weeks, assembling those beautiful poppies.
As of this writing, about half of the sets have been assembled with the remainder on track to be finished in the next two weeks. Completed poppies will be boxed up and shipped back to our National HQ ready to be shipped out to even more volunteers who will distribute them nationwide when it is safe to do so.
In next month’s newsletter, I’ll publish a full accounting of the results of this project. Meanwhile, many thanks to our members and friends who have been diligently assembling poppies.
Volunteer Jack helping assemble poppies.
Small poppy assembly line.