MONTREAL — The poppy campaign officially kicked off on Friday.
This year, the Dawson Student Union teamed up with veterans from the Royal Montreal Regiment to help bridge the gap between generations and encourage the youth to wear poppies.
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“Students have been asked to come by and take a selfie with a veteran while wearing one,” said union member, Kevin Slezak.
“We ask them to post the picture with #Poppyproud, so that we can instil a bit more of the spirit of Remembrance Day in our generation and people of our age.”
Dawson College student Adam Luxenberg said three of his great-uncles were veterans and he makes sure to show his support every year.
“I think it’s so important to remind young people because so many are preoccupied by their phones, by parties by everything else,” said Luxenberg.
“It’s just so important to know our history and where we came from and the people who fought for us.”
Veteran George Gohier admitted that it is difficult to make the younger generations understand the meaning behind Remembrance Day.
“Remembrance Day, the 11th of November 1918…was a long time ago,” he said.
Watch: Global Montreal’s five-part series commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Royal Montreal Regiment
The social media trend is catching on though.
Twitter and Instagram are already abuzz with poppy proud posts:
“It’s cool because it’s modernizing it, so young people can see it too,” said Claudia Duong.
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Les Newman has been part of the poppy campaign for more than 30 years.
He said he’s very impressed by the response the campaign has already received this year.
“I’m amazed, the kids from Dawson walk up to us and bang, it’s not 10 cents they put in the box, I get surprised sometimes,” said Newman.
This year, many are supporting the cause particularly to pay tribute to Canadian soldiers Nathan Cirillo and Patrice Vincent who were killed in separate incidents.
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