Remembrance Day poppies, accessories available for order this year
New this year, Canadians will be able to get their Remembrance Day poppies delivered directly to their door.
The Royal Canadian Legion says it is expanding access to poppies this Remembrance Day by making the pins available for order online through Amazon.
Poppies can now be purchased through the Royal Canadian Legion’s Amazon storefront for donation prices of $2, $5, $10, and $20.
"It's a little bit more about increasing the footprint and the availability of all of these items for Canadians,” said national spokesperson Nujma Bond.
“Sometimes people live in perhaps a more rural situation, or they may not have a legion branch in town."
Remembrance Day accessories are also available on the Legion’s Amazon page this year, including items such as magnets, lights, umbrellas, scarves, and pins.
"The donations that are made or the products that are bought really go towards helping the Legion support veterans and their families,” says Bond.
"One hundred per cent of what is raised through the Amazon collaboration goes towards the Legion."
Bond says so far this year roughly 10,000 orders have already been placed.
For Ottawa residents like Jeanine Cottee, wearing a poppy each November is particularly important.
"My brother passed away in July, and he's military, as was my dad as well, and he'll be buried in Beechwood Cemetery this month,” Cottee tells CTV News.
“So, it's extra special for me, and Remembrance Day has always been special in our family."
Cottee picked up a poppy Wednesday at the Westboro Legion’s physical storefront at Carlingwood Shopping Centre. She says she prefers it over ordering online.
"That's okay for those that want to shop on Amazon. For myself and for my family, we prefer to come in and see the veterans and actually talk and just see what's new, what's up.”
Brent Craig, a veteran services officer with the Westboro Legion, says many people are still coming in person to collect a poppy.
"We have our poppy boxes in many, many businesses and schools. So, poppies are available in hundreds of locations,” he says.
This year the Royal Canadian Legion says it is also expanding its two minutes of silence initiative.
In Ottawa, public transit commuters will find that OC Transpo buses will pull over for two minutes at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11. LRT trains will also stop at stations for two minutes at 11 a.m.
Some electronic billboards across the country will also go black at that time to mark the moment of silence.
As part of its poppy campaign this year, the Legion will be honouring the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force with its Poppy Stories initiative.
Canadians will be able to scan their poppies with their smartphones by going to poppystories.ca, which will reveal stories about the country’s fallen air force veterans.
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