Every year, a few of the money tubs from the Poppy Campaign go missing in Saskatoon, but there seems to have been an increase this year. Vice-Chair of the campaign, Donna Flahr estimates about ten of the tubs across the city were stolen, with all the money collected inside.

The three Saskatoon Legions and the Army, Navy and Air Force Veterans Club divide the city into four quadrants and each is in charge of one quadrant. Flahr works out of the Nutana Legion and says usually they have one or two tubs stolen, but this year there were four. She says it’s sad to think that someone was desperate enough to steal from the poppy campaign.

They will be looking at ways to prevent thefts or preventing the amount of money stolen, for next year. Flahr suggests having the volunteers retrieve the donations from the poppy tubs a few times during the campaign rather than leaving it all to the end and maybe giving businesses two tubs, so the money can be transferred, with less in the tub that the public has access to.

All of the money raised go into the Poppy Fund, and is used locally to assist veterans and their families for things like medical aids, the Veterans Village at Sherbrooke Community Centre, shelter and transportation. Flahr stresses that the Legions and the ANAVETS Club don’t use any of the poppy money for their club events.