RSL volunteer and ex-veteran Sarah Anderson will be one of the many volunteers selling poppy merchandise out in the community.

"It's going to be tricky with Covid but we are going to do what we can to help them," she said.

"There are still a lot of people fighting overseas that have been forgotten about, and it's extremely important for everyone to remember how they are here today.

"My kids have grown up with their dad and me in the army, and we are very big on them having any kind of exposure to it."

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Ms Anderson moved to Ararat in In 2007 and joined the army on May 20 2008.

"I was working as a waitress at the RSL. The chef who worked there at the time convinced me to enlist," she said.

"My first actual posting unit was the 3^rd Combat Service Support Battalion. "My role in the military itself was dentistry. I was then sent to the Robertson Barracks medical set up in Darwin.

"I was then posted back to Kapooka which is the first recruit training battalion where all the soldiers do their first training. When I was there I was in charge of running their dental practice."

Ms Anderson was medically discharged from the army in 2014 and moved back to Ararat in January 2020.

"I got back in touch with Ararat RSL after previously working with them. I love it because it's mostly the same staff to when I was waitressing there as a teenager.

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"They are very supportive with the veterans. They helped us with care packages during the lockdown for Anzac Day. That was really special and important for a lot of diggers."

Like many other charities, the RSL is facing difficult fundraising conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This year we couldn't do anything for Anzac Day. The veterans look forward to marching every year, so not being able to do that was a bit tricky," she said.

"This year for Remembrance day, Ararat RSL will be hosting a small service."

A commemorative online service will also be live-streamed at 10.45 am, on the Shrine of Remembrance Facebook and Youtube channels.

Victorians who wish to donate to the Poppy Appeal can do so online at poppyappeal.com.au, or by purchasing Poppy Appeal merchandise from the local IGA.

All of the donations go directly into assisting veterans in need; whether that be with financial matters or mental and physical health issues.

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