VFW POPPY PROGRAM COMES UP ROSES!

The Cranford VFW Post #335 announced that its annual Buddy Poppy Program in May was a great success. “It was a special month for Buddy Poppy Program,” said Lee Blowe, Cranford VFW Post Poppy Chairman. “We had a great turnout of our men and women to sell, but it was the public who really came through for us.” Lee indicated that the donations for poppies this year exceeded last year’s total by a whopping 40 percent. “We canvassed in both Cranford and Garwood, at mostly the popular stores and we were met with such acceptance, it just made us feel great,” added Lee, who is a Vietnam veteran.
The VFW Buddy Poppy program has been around since the early 1920s. The significance of the poppy blossomed from a poem influenced by World War I, titled “In Flanders Field” – in it, poet and soldier John McCrae references poppies growing and blowing in the wind among the graves of fallen American soldiers.
donations received by the VFW are deposited into a dedicated fund which can only be used for the direct benefit of veterans. “A great example of the use of these funds happened just last month,” explained Post Commander Jay Boxwell. “We were contacted by a veteran, a single mom, now a member of our Post, that her house had burned down and she had no where to go with her children. Our post along with other veterans’ organizations donated funds to see that she had a place to stay, at least, on a temporary basis, until she could get back on her feet.
Additionally, the VFW Buddy Poppy program provides compensation to the disabled veterans who assemble the poppies in VA Homes, and provides financial assistance in maintaining state and national veterans’ rehabilitation and service programs.“We just want to make sure the people of Cranford and Garwood know how much we appreciate their generosity,” said Commander Boxwell. “And we know they will be there again next year for us. We are so proud of our great community.”