Hello 🙂 I hope you’re having a great Friday!

I was going to save this one for macro Monday but it seemed more fitting to post it today since today is New Zealand’s annual Poppy Day (and 100 years since the first Poppy Day appeal, which is pretty cool).

For those that don’t know – Poppy Day is normally the Friday before Anzac Day, the RSA (Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association) and their teams of volunteers get out on the street, all over New Zealand, to exchange poppies for donations.

100% of the donations received go toward the RSA and it’s support services which run all around the country, providing support services to tens of thousands of veterans in New Zealand, young and old (45% of services in the last year were received by veterans under the age of 60).

“Many New Zealanders don’t understand that even on peacekeeping missions our service people can be affected mentally and physically by both the environment they serve in, and the situations they are exposed to. They come home with little fanfare, and return to a society that has no real understanding of what they’ve been part of.

In the last 30 years New Zealand has created over 30,000 veterans under the age of 50. These men and women have served in areas from Bosnia to Timor Leste, Iraq, Afghanistan, across the Pacific and even Antarctica.

While most will return to their normal lives with no issues, some will struggle to reintegrate, they might be injured or experience ongoing mental health issues as a result of their service. This can have a profound effect on both them and their families, and the RSA is here to ensure that when they need help, they have access to appropriate support.” (Quote: RSA’s National President BJ Clark – You can find an interesing article about it all, including what happened 100 years ago that created the first Poppy Day – here).

You will easily find lots of places selling poppies today (in New Zealand of course) if you want to buy one or alternatively donations can be made online via the RSAs website.

Thanks for stopping by! ❤️ have a great weekend!