The Cloverdale Legion is looking for more volunteers.

The famous Poppy Campaign is well underway, but this year Cloverdale is covering part of 91原创, so there is an increased need for volunteers of all sorts.

鈥淲e鈥檙e very busy,鈥� said Earl Fraser, Poppy Campaign chairman for the Cloverdale Legion. 鈥淭he campaign鈥檚 going quite well, but along with poppy taggers, we also need drivers.鈥�

Drivers are needed to deliver poppies and to pick up coin boxes.

Fraser said now that the 91原创 Legion has closed, they鈥檝e been stretched pretty thin.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a strain on both the Cloverdale and Aldergrove Legions.鈥�

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鈥淲e have some of the 91原创 Legion members covering that area, so that鈥檚 good,鈥� said Fraser. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been invaluable.鈥�

Fraser added he鈥檚 generally on his feet 12 hours a day鈥攆rom 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.鈥攑assing out poppies and working with volunteers to ensure poppies are available across Cloverdale and the 91原创 area west of 216th.

鈥淲e are always looking for more volunteers, of course,鈥� added Fraser. 鈥淥ur Legion members are quite a bit younger than some of the other Legions, so most of them are at work during the day.鈥�

Fraser said many locations remain unfilled and they are only asking for a few hours commitment.

Along with handing out poppies, Fraser has also been delivering them to volunteers and taking donation boxes to schools, coffee shops, and other businesses.

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Fraser said one of the biggest changes he鈥檚 witnessed this year is the high number of people wanting to 鈥渢ap鈥� donations with their phones or credit cards.

鈥淚 stand there with the poppy tray and people dump money in,鈥� he said. 鈥淔ive-dollar bills are run-of-the-mill, people are very generous, but a lot of people don鈥檛 carry cash anymore. So, I think making something available for people to tap would be a great idea.鈥�

Along with handing out poppies, Fraser said he also enjoys chatting with people.

鈥淭here is always great conversation. People are courteous and generous and I love meeting them. People are so fascinating.鈥�

This year the Legion continues its Digital Poppy Campaign as well. Donors can visit to purchase a digital poppy that can then be shared on social media. The digital poppy has an option to include the name of a veteran, if one chooses.

The legion also has a store at . where visitors can purchase poppy- and Remembrance Day-related merchandise.

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鈥淥ur BC/Yukon Legion Branches provide over $3.8 million annually in funds donated for Veteran support, community groups, youth, individual emergency funding and hospitals. They are an integral part of the social fabric of our communities,鈥� noted Veronica Brown, executive director of the BC/Yukon Command.

The Legion鈥檚 most recently-reported Poppy Campaign year was 2017. That year 19.8 million poppies were handed out and more than $16 million dollars was given to support veterans and their families between October 2017 to October 2018.

To volunteer with the Cloverdale Legion for the annual Poppy Campaign, call: 604-574-5300.