It's Time For The VFW Post Poppy Drive

AVON/CANTON, CT - The Avon-Canton VFW Post 3272 has scheduled its 2016 Buddy Poppy Drive for May 19 through 29.

The drive by the Gildo T. Consolini VFW Post 3272 supports more than 25 mostly local veteran charities and causes providing relief to current and past servicemen and woman in this state and region, according to a news release.

The Annual Buddy Poppy Drive will take place at various locations in Avon, Canton and Simsbury, according to a news release.

The familiar red paper poppy, normally worn on the lapel, is a symbol from World War I, memorialized in a poem written in 1915 by John McCrae about Flanders Field, Belgium, where, in 1914, American soldiers were engaged in battle in the fields of poppies that grew there. Historically, the VFW conducted its first buddy poppy distribution before Memorial Day in 1922, becoming the first veterans' organization to organize a nationwide distribution. The buddy poppy soon was adopted as the official memorial flower of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.

Military veterans of the Avon Post, with help from the VFW Auxiliary, will be distributing poppies at Wal-Mart in Avon, Stop & Shop in Simsbury and Shop Rite in Canton during the 11-day event.

While they are not required, donations are accepted, post officials said.

Last year, the Post raised more than $20,000 which was distributed to places like the Veterans Oasis Centers at Tunxis Community College and Central Connecticut State University; Connecticut’s Operation Stand Down for homeless veterans; Veterans Home in Rocky Hill and the Iwo Jima Memorial in New Britain, among others. If requested, the post sends relief packages to current military servicemen and women from the area.

The Rotary Club of Avon-Canton kicked off the drive with a recent $1,500 donation.

To make a private donation to the Annual Buddy Poppy Drive, checks can be made out and sent to: Avon VFW Post 3272, P.O. Box 297, Avon, CT 06001. Note in the memo line: For Poppy Drive.

Photo Credit: Avon VFW Post member Rudy Cusson, a World War II Navy veteran, distributes poppies and a smile during the post’s 2015 Buddy Poppy Drive outside Wal-Mart in Avon. Photo courtesy Deb Key Imagery.