You can now scan your poppy to learn the stories of fallen Canadian soldiers
CBC
After scanning a poppy with a smartphone, the face of Edward G.C. Richards appears.
Born in Strathmore, Alta., on Oct. 10, 1916, he grew up in Whitehorse, where he volunteered for the air force. He completed bombing and gunnery school before leaving to serve the country flying Lancaster bombers in the Second World War.
While on an air raid over Germany in March 1945, his plane was shot down. He was 28-years-old and left behind his wife and infant daughter.
In 1973, a mountain in the Yukon was named after Richards.
His story is just one of dozens being shared as part of a new campaign being run by the Royal Canadian Legion. It's called Poppy Stories, and it's a way of remembering fallen Canadian soldiers in the lead up to Remembrance Day on Nov. 11.
"It makes us realize that there are people behind these poppies," said Tammy Wheeler, executive director of the legion's Alberta-Northwest Territories command in Calgary, in an interview on the Calgary Eyeopener.
"They were real people, and they had real families and they suffered so much, so it's a way that we can read a little bit about them."
The initiative was launched alongside the legion's annual poppy campaign last week. Each year — from the last Friday of October to Remembrance Day — Canadians are encouraged to wear poppies to promote remembrance and to raise funds for veterans and their families.
Wheeler says those funds are used for emergency food and housing, for mental and physical health research and for those needing help to navigate the Veterans Affairs system.
Funds raised locally are used locally, according to the legion.
To access the fallen soldier stories, smartphone users will need a poppy. They are free to anyone who'd like to wear one, but donations can also be made at poppy boxes around the city, some of which now also accept credit and debit cards.
"We are hoping across Alberta, Northwest Territories to raise about $3 million," Wheeler said.
Smartphone users can go to poppystories.ca, where they'll be prompted to scan their poppy. There's no barcode or QR code — the website recognizes the shape of the poppy.
Then the photo and story of a soldier will appear.
P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch is looking for 50 substitute bus drivers, and it'll be recruiting at three job fairs on Saturday, June 8. The job fairs are located at the Atlantic Superstore in Montague, Royalty Crossing in Charlottetown, and the bus parking lot of Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside. All three run from 9 a.m. until noon. Dave Gillis, the director of transportation and risk management for the Public Schools Branch, said the number of substitute drivers they're hiring isn't unusual. "We are always looking for more. Our drivers tend to have an older demographic," he said.