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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-11-04, Page 34Page 14 PY 60th ANNIVERSAR LEST WE FORGET SUNCOAST ENTERPRISES cDiccji€ries Congratulations on your GLASS & MIRROR 224 Suncoast Drive E., Goderich 524-7312 Congratulations on 60 years of service. Let us remember those who died for our freedom. Marlin Harbour Light y'yJTraveI IN EXETER CALL MARLIN TRAVEL 414 MAIN ST.. EXETER 235-0220 68 Courthouse Sq., Goderich 524-7335 Marlin Travel. Marlin Travel Marlin Travel driCHAMPION SINCE 1886. A PART OF YOUR PAST A PART OF YOUR FUTURE The Branch 109 Mini Museum is in the Vimy Room of Goderich Legion headquarters. Left, is Neil Shaw, curator of the museum which opened in 1984. Right, Past President Clare Bedard, who built the cupboards housing items related to WW I and WW II. National organization 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 Committee organizes the ceremony, with the par- ticipation of the Canadian Armed Forces, Veterans Affairs Canada, Public Works Canada, the Ottawa Police Department, the R.C.M.P., St. John Ambulance, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, the Dominion Carillonneur, the Central Choir of the Ot- tawa Board of Education and represen- tatives of radio and television. A Silver Cross Mother, representing Canadian Motherhood, and the senior win- ners of the Legion's Literary and Poster Contests, are brought to Ottawa as guests of the Legion to participate in the National Ceremony. POPPY CAMPAIGN The Royal Canadian Legion conducts a poppy campaign to collect funds each year prior to Remembrance Day. All proceeds are placed in trust accounts and after ex- penses•(including the cost of poppies and wreaths) are paid, the funds are used to assist needy Canadian ex -service person- nel and their dependents, ex -service per- sonnel of Commonwealth countries and of allied countries resident in Canada. Some authorized uses of these funds are: com- munity medical equipment and medical research; day-care centres, • meals -on - wheels, transportation and related ser- vices for ex -service personnel, their dependents and the aged. Although the Poppy Campaign is na- tional 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 1985/86 $3,455,329 was spent for the benefit of ex -service personnel and their dependents. POPPIES AND WREATHS In 1986, 13 million poppies and 68,500 wreaths and crosses were distributed in Canada. For every donation received, a poppy, wreath or other acknowledgement is given. These items are financed out of the receipts of the Poppy Campaign. All poppies and wreaths are made in sheltered workshops, or in homes by ex - servicemen and women or their dependents. Thus the Poppy Campaign helps to support ex -service personnel and their dependents in all phases of its operation. FACTS ABOUT THE ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION - Number of branches: Canada, 1750; U.S.A., 41; West Germany, 2. Number of Legion members and frater- nal affiliates: 600,000. Number of Ladies' Auxiliary members: 90,000 approximately THE ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION'S CONTRIBUTION TO CANADA The Royal Canadian Legion spends millions of dollars on various community activities and -thousands . of hours of volunteer time to implement its social ser- vice programs. The following outlines some of the groups and, programs the Legion is involved with: The Salvation Ar- my - Red Shield Drive; The Red Cross; St. John Ambulance; over 600 Cadet corps; over 500 Scout Troops, Cub and Girl Guides packs; United Way/Red Feather Campaign. In addition, the Legion: contributes to schools and homes for the handicapped; provides 1,000 students bursaries and scholarships for continued education which, led by the Legion's Ladies' Aux- iliary, exceeds $475,000 annually; hosts blood donor clinics; institutes Big Brother Programs; operates drop-in centres, day- care units and kindergartens; provides over 3,000 low -rental housing units for senior citizens and 60 or more com- munities; sponsors a National Literary Composition and Poster Contest for schools; 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' Aux- iliaries, Legion branches contribute more than $2,000,000 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 fami- ly 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 University of Toronto-. in- vestigative program into urinary incontinence. Alberta & NWT Command is supporting a Chair in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Alberta at the cost of $142,500 over a three year period. Newfoundland & Labrador Command is supporting a health sciences project in the purchasing of a multi -diagnosis x-ray machine. Their support to the project is the sum of $400,000 over five years.