The Niagara-on-the-Lake Royal Canadian Legion is raising money to support its counterpart in the fire-ravaged community of Jasper, Alberta.

The small mountain community had hundreds of its homes, businesses and infrastructure destroyed by a wildfire in late July. The fire is still threatening the community and is expected to burn for months, and could smoulder until next spring.

“Our mission statement is to help veterans and now they (the Jasper Legion) cannot help their veterans,” said Megan Vanderlee, first vice president and bar chair of the NOTL Legion. 

“We are going to be collecting for the month of August. Cash donations are welcome.”

Vanderlee added that a part of the proceeds from the Legion’s weekly fish fry on Aug. 8 will also be donated.

“We will be holding an executive meeting next week when we will be deciding what else can be done,” she added.

“At this point, we just want to help. We don’t know where things are going to land yet, but we want to directly impact and make a difference to the Jasper Legion.”

Once the money is delivered to Jasper, that branch will have the freedom to decide where the money is best served, said Vanderlee.

“They are going to be feeding firefighters, supporting the community with their return to their homes or with a hotel room if they are lucky, camping sites, and the legion itself may be used as a command station.”

While cash donations can be dropped off at the NOTL Legion, members of the community at large can also donate to the cause via PayPal. A link to the PayPal account can be found on the Jasper Legion’s Facebook and website pages or at www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=ULKYJV8QM5TDQ.

Cheques can also be mailed to the Jasper Legion. While members of the legion are being housed at a camp in nearby Hinton, Alberta, any cheques can be payable to Royal Canadian Legion, Branch No. 31, P.O. Box 580, Jasper, AB T0E 1E0 and mailed via Canada Post, which will redirect the mail to the Hinton camp.