Vets benefit from generosity
Scouts and cadets joined legion members in collecting donations for local veterans
Gail Springer made sure the Mayor of Pitt Meadows Deb Walters received her poppy, launching the campaign that raised more than $62,000.
Photograph by: Sylver McLaren , TIMES
Raising more than $62,000, Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows residents have exceeded last year's donations to the poppy campaign.
Hundreds of hours of poppy tagging took place in the two communities between Oct. 27 and Nov. 11, with Royal Canadian Legion Branch 88 members doing the lion's share of the work.
But there were also sea cadets, army cadets, and air cadets who collected donations, said Royal Canadian Legion Branch 88 president Jim MacDonald.
In addition, for the first time the St. John Ambulance cadets put in 22 hours, as did the 1st Laity View Scout troop.
Every year, businesses also have trays for poppy donations, and this year 124 businesses participated.
For the first year, people were out collecting donations on the two Sundays before Nov. 11, as well as at the Maple Ridge cenotaph and near the legion an hour ahead of Monday's Remembrance Day parade and services.
"We truly do live in a fantastic community," MacDonald said of the generosity. Earlier this week, the total money counted was $62,089 with a few more dollars trickling in.
