Memorial Day “Buddy Poppy” Distribution Cancelled
It’s time for “Virtual” Poppy Drives
by Jim Blossey
“Would you wear a poppy in honor of our fallen comrades?”
Rain or shine, every Memorial Day weekend members of Edmonds Post 8870 of Veterans of Foreign Wars—combat veterans all—stand outside of area supermarkets offering passersby a small replica of a poppy and inviting them to wear it.
It is free; we never charge for it. we just want people to wear it as a way to let others know that they appreciate the sacrifices that have been made on their behalf.
Very often, people choose to leave a donation anyway. The Post uses the funds to support needy veterans in many ways: holiday gifts for residents of local veterans homes, temporary housing for families of hospitalized veterans, placing wreaths on veterans’ graves and many more.
And there’s the rub. With the Social Distancing prohibitions this year, our veterans can’t be out there. As a result, Memorial Day donations are likely to drop to zero and sadly our ability to continue to help worthy veterans will come to a halt, too.
Unless, that is, we can get folks to click over to the Post’s website at https://vfw8870.org and hit the donate button. It doesn’t have to be a lot; anything will help. It is amazing how quickly the dollars accrue. We will be running an ad with a link to our web page in MyEdmondsNews.com and perhaps some other local media in support of this effort. That ad is shown below.
Another way you can help is to share this message on your Facebook page, or with your email contacts. You can go to our page (click here) and share it to your friends and readers. Or just copy this message and post it. Everything you do helps us help those that did so much for us.
Matching funds available! Post member Ron Clyborne and his wife Michelle have committed to matching funds of up to $ 1,500.00. Early donors have the opportunity to double their contribution with the Clybornes’ generous offer.