Legions hard at work across Ontario
Legions across Ontario are commemorating Legion Week Sept. 17 to 23.
In 2016, there were 403 branches, with a total membership of over 100,000.
In 2016, grants from Poppy funds, to ex-service personnel and their dependents, totaled over $800,000.
Additional funds spent on veterans programs for 2016 totaled over $306,000.
Money spent on medical equipment and research totaled over $1.3 million.
Not including funds spent on veterans, over $341,000 was used for seniors’ programs.
The Legions provided funding for provincial service bureaus to assist all veterans with pension applications and benefit concerns free of charge.
Ontario Provincial Command Branches and Ladies Auxiliaries Charitable Foundation approved nearly $500,000 to Ontario communities in 2016.
Since its inception in 1979, donations approved amounted to over $15.8 million to various hospitals, health clinics, homes for the aged and charities in communities throughout Ontario.
Through the bursary program in the 2016-17 academic year a total of 465 applications were awarded to students in need for post-secondary education in the total amount of $232,500 in Ontario.
Since the 2002-03 academic year the bursary program has made a total of 11,032 awards totaling over $5.4 million.
Over $5.3 million was awarded from Poppy Trust funds.
Legions supported Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, Army/Air/Sea Cadets and other youth programs in excess of $1.6 million.
Donations to local community projects totaled over $1.6 million.
Total donations made to the Homeless Veterans Program “Operation: Leave the Streets Behind” amounted to over $1.5 million. As of April 2017, over 500 veterans have been assisted.
Ontario Command members annually put in over 422,200 volunteer hours.
In 2016, Ontario Command Branches had over 6,650 volunteer staff and employed over 1,500 full-time and part-time staff.
