The annual Poppy Day Appeal embodies the core values of the RSA — remembrance and support. For over 85 years, Poppy Day has been a yearly event usually held on the Friday before Anzac Day (25 April). It is the RSA’s most crucial fundraising appeal of the year, raising funds to help support returned servicemen, women, and their dependents in need.
On Poppy Day, RSA volunteers distribute hundreds of thousands of red poppies throughout New Zealand in exchange for generous donations from the public. The poppies are traditionally then worn on the left lapel for a few days, but especially on Anzac Day, to signify remembrance of the nation’s war dead and support for the valuable work of the RSA.
