Despite the pandemic, the NOTL poppy drive raised $16,527 this year, down about 20 per cent from 2019, but much better than the Legion expected.

Al Howse, a spokesman for the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 124 in Niagara-on-the-Lake, said the total was less than previous years, but is happy with the figure, given how COVID-19 made fundraising difficult.

“We did better than expected,” Howse said in an email to The Lake Report.

“The overall number so far is lower. We were expecting it to be half of what it was last year” because fewer stores displayed poppy boxes and there were no street sales.

Last year the poppy campaign raised $20,641.

Marg Boldt, chair of the NOTL poppy committee, said the Legion is “grateful for all donations from those who gave.”

“This surpassed our expectations, given the restrictions. We thank the many businesses that allowed us to display our counter-top boxes. We thank the community for their continued and generous support for the Legion and its mission.”

In 2019-2020, the Legion donated about $4,600 to veterans and families, $4,000 to the air cadets and $845 to youth education.