Save the Royal Canadian Legions

With Remembrance Day approaching, we prepare to give thanks to the many brave people that have served our country. This year’s celebration will be very different due to the ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic. Many people, including my grandparents Don and Joan Hepburn, will not be able to celebrate at their Legion this year, as it had to remain closed due to the costs and restrictions associated with hosting an event during this pandemic.

The pandemic has disproportionately affected the elderly. They have become isolated from family, friends and community. Before Covid, my Grandparents spent most of their evenings attending events hosted by their local Legions (I always joked that they had a better social life than I did). There was Crib on Monday, darts on Tuesday, poker nights, music bingo, TGIF, meat draws and best of all and my Grandfather’s personal favorite, country music Saturday, where an eclectic group of people sashayed around the dance floor of the Esquimalt legion to a band called “Yesterday’s Wine”. Basically overnight these things disappeared from their calendars and their lives indefinitely.

Legions have been struggling for years to meet their rising bills, and many have permanently shut their doors. We lost an amazing hangout at the Esquimalt legion earlier this year. The veteran community and their family and friends rely on these places as a space where they can feel comfortable, afford a drink and a meal and catch up with their friends. Like all great places, the Royal Canadian legion Trafalgar Pro Patria Branch 292 is like a family, organized by amazing staff that know every patron personally. Their decision to stay closed this Remembrance Day must have been a difficult one as they fully understand the need to be together on such a poignant day.

I have started this fundraiser in honour of my grandparents Don and Joan Hepburn, who are both celebrating their 90th birthday’s this year, and who have been long time members of the  Royal Canadian legion Trafalgar Pro Patria Branch 292 as well as the 800 Wing. My hope is to raise as much money as possible to ease the financial burdens starting with their astronomical property taxes which are approximately $85,000 a year. While so many others have received financial assistance, our Veterans have been neglected once again. The city of Victoria gave them a paltry break on their taxes (shameful really) which is merely a drop in the bucket of their needs. Legions provide enormously important space to many and are a community worth persevering.

So this year I am asking you to make a donation to save our The Royal Canadian Trafalgar Pro Patria Branch 292. All of the money will be donated on behalf of my Grandparents Don and Joan Hepburn.