The Royal Canadian Legion in Fort Frances is eager to open their doors again, to host events, meat and 50/50 draws and support the veterans.
Veronica Davis, office manager and bookkeeper, said she is eager to have the Legion open back to fundraising events, activities and socializing.
“We are here to support veterans in the area in any way that we can,” Davis said. “Sometimes it’s financial and sometimes they just need somebody to listen to them.”
During COVID-19, the Legion was only able to hold the poppy fund, a campaign designated solely to the support of the veterans.
“Even last year with it being COVID-19, we were not sure how we would do, and the community was awesome,” Davis said. “We were really close to what we raised the year before, and that had broken records.”
Under normal circumstances, Davis said, they would also host other fundraising events to support youth activity.
“We do bursaries to the high school,” Davis said. “Some comes from the poppy fund, but some also comes from the other fundraising that we do.”
Ann Watson, president of the Legion, said whenever things open up, they will get the wheel rolling right away with an event or a fundraiser, while keeping COVID restrictions in mind.
“I don’t know whether we will go with any kind of fundraiser specifically,” Watson said. “But I know a few of our regular people are looking forward to the bar being open again. We do hold meat draws and 50/50 draws Friday nights and we have our 50/50 draw once a month. We closed down, opened for three weeks and shut down again.”
Davis also said they are looking forward to the time they could open the hall to rentals in order to help keep the Legion in a good shape. The clubroom and the hall are what keeps the building operating, Davis added.
“It would be nice if the hall would be open through rentals by the time the Christmas season rolls around,” Davis said. “That’s a big one to help offset our operating costs. It holds 200 people. People book it for weddings and funerals. I got married there. As long as whatever you’re renting it for is legal you can rent it.”
The Legion supports the veterans in many different ways.
“Sometimes the veterans need some short-term financial assistance, so then we send a request to our command in Winnipeg,” Davis said. “Sometimes they need modifications made to their homes for easier accessibility if they had a stroke.”
Also, multiple donations have been made to Riverside by the Legion, including bladder scanners, special mattresses and any other pieces of equipment that a veteran would benefit from.
Davis said she is encouraging the community to show their support by purchasing a membership that costs $50 per year.
“We get to keep some portion of the money, some goes to the provincial command and some goes to the national command, so it keeps all the legions going to a certain degree,” Davis said. “Members get the satisfaction that they get to help other people in the community.”
