Poppy stalls are situated in Ararat outside Safeway and Foodworks, and on Barkly Street, with Mr Donaldson and six other volunteers manning the stations from 8.30am-5:30pm until Remembrance Day on Wednesday November 11.

The volunteers are kindly donating their days in order to raise money for ex-service men and women and their families. By buying a poppy, which are available in pin and badge form from $1, you help the RSL continue vital welfare support in the form of food vouchers, wheelchairs, walking frames, home maintenance, hospital and home visiting and other supportive measures.

Mr Donaldson is an ex-national serviceman and has been in charge of the poppy operation for 13 years.

He said support from the people of Ararat has been fantastic this year. However, the days are long and volunteers are hard to come by.

Remembrance Day has been celebrated by wearing poppies since 1921. The poppy is significant as a symbol of human sacrifice, and because the red `Flanders' poppy grew profusely in trenches and craters in the war zones of World War One, where artillery shells and shrapnel stirred up the earth and provided the poppy seeds with the light they needed to germinate. Today, poppies are worn as a sign of respect and remembrance to those who died for their country, and to thank them for the freedom that Australians continue to enjoy.