The VFW Buddy Poppy and VFW National Home for Children are cornerstone programs supported by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and its Auxiliary. Together, they represent remembrance, service, and a continued commitment to caring for veterans and their families.
The Buddy Poppy, assembled by disabled and needy veterans, is distributed by VFW Auxiliary members nationwide. Each poppy serves as a visible reminder of the sacrifices made by our nation’s heroes and helps fund the VFW and Auxiliary Relief Funds. These funds provide financial assistance to veterans, service members, and their families in times of need. Through the Buddy Poppy program, Auxiliary members help educate communities about the meaning behind the red flower—keeping alive the spirit of remembrance and gratitude.
The VFW National Home for Children, founded in 1925 in Eaton Rapids, Michigan, is also supported by the VFW Auxiliary through donations, fundraisers, and awareness efforts. The National Home provides housing, education, and support services for military and veteran families facing hardship. Auxiliary members help sustain the mission of the National Home—offering stability, healing, and hope to those who have served our country.
Together, these programs reflect the VFW Auxiliary’s purpose: to honor the dead by helping the living.
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"In Flanders Fields”
By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae (1915)
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
