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Home My WebLink AboutTimes-Advocate, 1986-11-05, Page 40Page 10 Regional Value Spotter, November 5, 1986 The Royal Canadian Legion National Remembrance Program Ottawa - November 11 A national remembrance service is conducted by The Royal Canadian Legion with the help of the federal and municipal governments, many organizations, and a host of volunteers. It is nationally televised by the CBC, which also produces a national radio broadcast. A Dominion Command Ceremonies Committee organizes the ceremony, with the participation of the Canadian Armed Forces, Veterans Affairs Canada, Public Works Canada, the Ottawa Police Department, the R.C.M.P., St. John's Am- bulance, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, the Dominion Carillonneur, the Central Choir of the Ottawa Board of Education and representatives of radio and television. A Silver Cross Mother, representing Canadian Motherhood, and the senior winners of the Legion's literary and poster con- tests, are brought to Ottawa as guests of the Legion to par- ticipate in the national ceremony. Poppy campaign The Royal Canadian Legion conducts a poppy campaign to collect funds each year prior to Remembrance Day. All pro- ceeds are placed in trust accounts and after expenses (in- cluding the cost of poppies and wreaths) are paid, the funds are used to assist needy Canadian ex -service personnel and their dependents, ex -service personnel of Commonwealth coun- tries and of allied countries resident in Canada. ..� Some authorized uses of these funds are: * Community medical equipment and medical research. • Day-care centres, meals -on -wheels, transportation and related services for ex -service personnel, their dependents and the aged. Although the poppy campaign is national in scope, each Legion branch is responsible for running its own campaign and collecting and disbursing funds in its area. Money is not deposited in a central fund. In 1985, $3,635,506.44 was spent for the benefit of ex -service personnel and their dependents. Poppies and wreaths In 1985, 121/2 million poppies and 72,000 wreaths and crosses were distributed in Canada. An additional 990,000 poppies were sent to the West Indies to help raise funds for ex -service per- sonnel and their dependents in their own countries. TOLL FREE 1-800-265-4392 Local can 284-2807 Colonial Plates it Dolls 7 Water St., St. Marys, Ont. NOM 2V0 Open Mon. -Sat. 10:30-5 a.m. Sun. 2*p.m. SAVE 20% OFF OUR LOW! LOW! PRICES. COME AND COMPARE -SPECIALIZING IN - •Gold Chains •Silver Chains • Earrings 1010, •Earings Tri -Colour • Charms } 14K -Charms Silver& Gold •Pendants •Pendants •Diamonds *Precious Stones *Wedding Rings •Anniversary Rings SPECIAL EVENTS *Jewellery Open House All Nov. - SAVE 20% Off *Figurine Open House & Sale Sat. 10:30 - 5 p.m. Nov. 8th Sun. 12:00 - 5 p.m. Nov. 9th *Print Open House & Sale 20% Off all prints - Week of Nov. 14th Keirstead, Vic Gibbons, Snyder, etc. *Lead Diamond Salesman In Our Store Friday, Nov. 28th - 6-9:30 Buy In Time For Christmas *Doll Open House Week Of Dec. 12th Many In Store Specials All poppies and wreaths are made in sheltered workshops, or in homes by ex -servicemen and women or their dependents. Facts about The Royal Canadian Legion Number of branches: Canada 1750 U.S.A. 41 West Germany 2 Number of Legion members and fraternal affiliates: 600,000 Number of Ladies' Auxiliary members: 90,000 approx. The Royal Canadian Legion's contribution to Canada In 1984, The Royal Canadian Legion spent $30 million on various community activities and thousands of hours of volunteer time to implement its social service programs. The following roster outlines some of the groups and programs the Legion is involved with: * The Salvation Army - Red Shield Drive; • The Red Cross; • St. John's Ambulance; • Over 600 cadet corps; • Over 500 Scout Troops, Cub and Girl Guide packs. In addition, the Legion: * Contributes to schools and homes for the handicapped; • Provides 1,000 students bursaries and scholarships for con- tinued education which, led by the Legion's Ladies' Auxiliary, exceeds $475,000 annually; * Supports a sports training program encouraging the development of abilities of young athletes. This includes some 817 hockey, 870 baseball, 713 softball, 180 soccer, 60 lacrosse teams and 500 track and field clinics; • Hosts blood donor clinics; • Institutes Big Brother programs; * Operates drop-in centres, day-care units and kindergartens; • Provides 3,200 low -rental housing units for senior citizens in 60 communities; * Sponsors a national Literary Composition and Poster Contest; * Contributes to fellowships in geriatric medicine and a Chair of Family practice at the University of British Columbia. Scholarships and Bursaries Dominion Command has allocated $105,000 each year for fellowships to train doctors and nurses in geriatric medicine. In addition to programs carried out by provincial commands and ladies' auxiliaries, Legion branches contribute more than $200,000 per year. Medical research and services Mount Pleasant Branch in Vancouver has contributed $725,000 over a three year period to establish a geriatric unit in family practice at the University of British Columbia. Pacific Command supports a Chair of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia valued at $40,000 per year. Ontario Command has provided $175,000 towards a Univer- sity of Toronto investigative program into uninary incontinence. Alberta and N.W.T. Command is supporting a Chair in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Alberta at the cost of $142,500 over a three year period. Local Remembrance Service Almost every community with a Legion branch has some form of Remembrance service. This may be on the week -end preceding or following November 11th, depending on local circumstances. Most schools have some form of service which is dedicated to the remembrance of those who have served their country and made the supreme sacrifice. These services are often KID SPECIAL We have several unfinished single waterbeds for Immediate Sale CALL WORLD WIDE WATERBEDS 452-3730 organized by children_and are very touching. The Legion pro- duces Teachers' Guides to provide background information which is helpful in planning these services. Merchant seamen It is an often forgotten fact, but one of the toughest battles of WW II wasn't fought on land, and many of its participants were not even in the armed forces. The Battle of the Atlantic, which is still remembered in ceremonies every May, was a brutal affair that the Allies could not afford to lose. If the supply lines to Great Britain were lost, so was the war. Fortunately the victory was won, but at an incredibly high cost. German U-boats, often travelling in packs, sank some 2,600 British and Canadian merchant ships during the war. More than 1,000 Canadian merchants sailors - civilians caught in the middle of a war zone - died during those disasters, but they also wrote one of the most stirring chapters of the war. Today those contributions by Canada's merchant sailors are mostly forgotten as history recalls more famous engagements, but The Royal Canadian Legion wants to ensure that they are remembered. The Legion has recognized their service by giving wartime merchant sailors equal status with other war veterans. And the millions of poppies distributed by Legionnaires every November are meant to remember the merchant sailors who died, just as they are meant to pay homage to Canada's dead soldiers, naval sailors and airmen. Just how large was the contribution of Canada's merchant sailors to victory in the Atlantic? When the war started in 1939 there were only 37 Canadian - registered ships engaged in foreign voyages, employing ap- proximately 1,400 Canadian sailors. When it ended Canada had the largest merchant fleet in the history of the dominions, operating 180 large ships that required 12,000 skilled seamen. They, and their counterparts from Great Britain and the other Allied nations, played as vital a role in winning the war as anyone wearing a military uniform. The federal government recognized their contribution by making merchant seamen eligible for war medals and postwar. benefits. The Legion wants later generations to recognize their contribution too. Canada's Best Selling New Car Means We Have Stratford's Best USED CARS 1985 Grand Prix loaded 1984 Audi 5,000 1984 Jetta GLI 1980 Mazda GLC 1979 Acadia 1985 Pony GLS 1985 Pony GL 1984 Pony GLS 1982 VW Rabbit 1981 Sopora All cars priced to sell now STRATFORD H. • Sales • Service HYLJr1DRI • Parts 633 Erie St. 271-7528