Moina Michael and the Remembrance Poppy

Reposted The Poppy Lady: Moina Michael started a movement for veterans by Sara Freeland (news.uga.edu) 'During her lifetime, if you adjust for inflation, poppy sales raised $3 billion worldwide, most of which went directly to veterans,' said Tom Michael, a great nephew of Moina Michael, who died in 1944. 'She championed the poppy as a permanent symbol and reminder of our collective obligation to support our veterans and their families And through all the poppy sales around the world, her legacy of helping veterans lives on.' Inspired by Col. John McCrae’s poem, In Fladers Fields, Georgia resident and professor Moina Michael championed the remembrance poppy following World War I. Sara Freeland, writing for UGA Today, explained: She also launched a national letter-writing campaign encouraging others to adopt the poppy. The American Legion designated the red poppy as its official flower in 1920, and distribution of poppies became a Legion national program in 1924. Michael passed away in…