Since 1922, the Buddy Poppy has been an integral part of the VFW community. As VFW's official memorial flower, the Poppy represents the blood shed by American service members. It reiterates that VFW will not forget their sacrifices.
The Poppy movement was inspired by Canadian Army Col. John McCrae's famous poem, "In Flanders Fields". Poppies were originally distributed by the Franco-American Children's League to benefit children in the devastated areas of France and Belgium following World War I.
In 1922, the VFW conducted a campaign and received Poppies from France. Members soon discovered it took too long to get the flowers from France and they came up with a better idea: Disabled, hospitalized, and aging veterans could make the paper flowers and ship them out to the members for distribution. This practice remains in effect today, with veterans in VA hospitals and state veterans homes assembling VFW Buddy Poppy's and shipping them to VFW Posts around the world.
The VFW pays these veterans for their work of assembling Poppies. In most cases, this extra money provides additional income for the worker to pay for the little luxuries, which make hospital life more tolerable. All proceeds from the VFW's Poppy distribution are used for veterans welfare or the well being of their needy dependents, as well as the orphans of veterans. More than 2,100 children of veterans have been, or being cared for in the VFW National Home in Eaton Rapids, Michigan, thanks to a portion of Poppy funds.
The VFW's Buddy Poppy program is truly all about veterans helping veterans and living up the VFW's motto of "Honoring the Dead by Helping the Living". |
Web design by Ed Martin