Red Deer Legion Branch #35 (rdnewsNOW / Sheldon Spackman)

By Sheldon Spackman

Funding Boost

Red Deer Legion receives funding support from federal government

Dec 23, 2020 | 11:04 AM

Red Deer Legion Branch #35 stands to benefit from a funding boost announced this week by Veteran’s Affairs Canada.

Veterans Affairs says the COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult for everyone, including the organizations that serve Canada’s veterans and their families.

On Monday, The Royal Canadian Legion announced that Legion branches across Canada will receive $14 million in support through the Veterans Organizations Emergency Support Fund.

The funding is expected to help Legion branches with operational expenses such as rent, insurance, utilities and administrative costs so they can focus on providing important programs, services and support to veterans and their families, and continue their strong community presence.

The $20 million Veterans Organizations Emergency Support Fund was announced in November as part of the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan.

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It was created to support veteran’s organizations experiencing financial challenges due to COVID-19.

Bev Hanes, President of Red Deer Legion Branch #35 says they successfully applied for a piece of the relief funding and will receive a little over $10,000 as a result.

“We’ve had to basically close again, so we really wish that Premier Kenney had done something sooner in November,” laments Hanes. “We’re really sorry that we had to close. It basically took all of our revenue away.”

Hanes notes that a lot of people normally come into the Legion during the month of December and buy items such as lottery tickets for Christmas stockings. She adds that kind of revenue, however, is now gone.

“We had to stipulate where it (the funding) did go,” admits Hanes. “We put it into staffing of course, but inventory is another thing. When we shut down we had to almost get rid of some things that couldn’t be used and were going to go bad. And now again we’ve had to do away with some things that aren’t going to last.”

Hanes says the funding will help keep the roughly 12 people employed by the Legion, working once it reopens.

“It’s not a large staff anymore, and a lot of that is part-time,” says Hanes. “It’s mostly just keeping the branch open. Christmas is a big part of our revenues. Helping us out this way from the government, that was great. We are very thankful for it.”