A BRIEF HISTORY

Since 1922, the "Buddy”® Poppy has been an integral part  of the VFW community. As VFW’s official memorial flower, the Poppy represents the blood shed by American service members. It reiterates the VFW will not forget their sacrifices.

The Poppy movement was inspired by Canadian Army Col. John McCrae’s famous poem, "In Flanders Fields.” Poppies were originally distributed by the Franco-American Children’s League to benefit children in the devastated areas of France and Belgium following WWI.

In 1922, VFW conducted a campaign and got Poppies from France. Members soon discovered it took too long to get the flowers in from France and they came up with a better idea. Disabled, hospitalized and aging veterans could make the paper flowers and ship them out to the members for distribution.  And so it was known, for veterans in VA hospitals and domiciliaries and in state veterans’ homes, every day would be VFW "Buddy”® Poppy Day. These men and women assemble the Poppies, tie them in bunches of 10 and pack them in boxes of 500, 1,000 or 2,000 for shipment to the Posts and Auxiliaries. VFW pays the disabled veteran for the work. In most cases, this extra money provides additional income for the worker to pay for the little luxuries which make life more tolerable. Furthermore, Poppy assembly is often used as a therapy program to provide exercise for fingers and hands crippled by wounds, disease and the effects of old age.

Another reason Poppies are so important is because all proceeds from distribution are used for veteran’s welfare or for the well being of their needy dependents and the orphans of veterans. More than 2,300 children of veterans have been, or are being cared for in the VFW National Home in Eaton Rapids, Michigan, thanks to a portion of Poppy funds. Reiterate to your fellow members the two-fold importance of Poppies. It’s truly all about veterans helping veterans and living up to VFW’s motto of "No One Does More for Veterans.”

 

 

 

"BUDDY”® POPPY CAMPAIGN. Although we emphasize Buddy Poppies on Veterans Day and Memorial Day, it is important to realize that the distribution of Buddy Poppies should be a year-round exercise. Each time a Post participates in an activity where the public will be present, Buddy Poppies should be present as a fundraising tool and simply to recognize our fallen comrades. Where the VFW appears, Buddy Poppies should be a constant reminder that we will never forget those who have perished in the name of liberty. Just as "They Gave, Will You?” is a year-round thing, so should the distribution of VFW Buddy Poppies. 

 

Remember that your poppies should be ordered a minimum of three (3) weeks in advance of your distribution date. 

BUDDY POPPY POLICY AND PROCEDURES: 

1) Departments must order poppies through OMS. 

2) All claims of non-receipt of a Buddy Poppy order must be made within 60 days of the date of the order or will NOT be replaced free of charge.  

3) All orders for the traditional Buddy Poppy, Anniversary Poppies or tin tab poppies must be placed through your Department Headquarters. Auxiliaries must go through their Post to order all poppies. 

4) The tin tabs do count towards the Buddy Poppy requirement for the All-American program. 

5) If you do not receive your order within four weeks of placing it with your Department, please contact your Department Headquarters to report you have not received your order. 

6) All poppies are shipped within 10 days of ordering except orders placed in June and July, due to preparation for National Convention, please allow an additional five business days. 

 

Miscellaneous items (coin cans, buttons, posters, etc.) should be ordered directly from the VFW Store at vfwstore.org/category/programs/buddypoppy or by calling Member Service Center at 1.833.839.8387.

 

The Manual of Procedure provides that Post relief funds may be used for programs such as Voice of Democracy, Patriot’s Pen, Citizenship Education, and Community Service as long as suggestions in the chairperson’s guidebooks are used as an example of promoting these programs.  Posts are further reminded that Section 711 of the Manual of Procedure provides that non-profit organizations, exempt from taxes under Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, may assist with the distribution of Buddy Poppies, provided there shall be no division of proceeds. A donation to these groups may be made from the Post general fund. 

 

 

VFW SILVER, GOLD AND DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY POPPIES. The Silver, Gold and Diamond Anniversary Buddy Poppies are for Posts that are currently in their 25th, 50th or 75th anniversary years. For Posts currently in their 100th year anniversary, they can order any color and as many as they need.  Please limit your order of anniversary poppies to 1,000 to ensure stock does not run out unless you are currently in your 100th year. These are ordered through the Department in OMS and processed the same as the red poppies. Currently we have no plans to replenish inventory of Anniversary Poppies due to increased cost and the small quantities we sell of Anniversary Poppies. Based on the past four years’ sales, we have sufficient inventory for the next 2 years of Gold, 3 years of Diamond and 50 years of Silver.