It might be a different Legacy Week to years gone by, but the Moree branch is determined to do what it can to keep supporting local families of servicemen and women.
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Legacy Week launched on Sunday and normally volunteers would be hitting the street for donations on Badge Day (the first Friday of September) for the charity's biggest fundraiser.
However this year, as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, the Moree Division has decided to cancel its face-to-face Badge Day fundraising.
"There's not a lot of foot traffic in the CBD, with a lot of people working from home," Moree Legacy Division officer manager Trish Winter said.
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Instead of face-to-face fundraising, Legacy Week merchandise will be available to purchase from some local schools, Tourism Moree and Whiddon Moree. There will also be posters around town with digital scan codes available for people to donate online.
Otherwise, community members interested in supporting the cause are encouraged to call 6754 3422, or one of Moree's nine Legatees, to purchase merchandise. Alternatively, people can donate online at www.legacy.com.au.
For almost a century, Legacy has kept the promise to thousands of veterans' families - helping provide financial and social support for those in their care during times of hardship and grief.
Although they don't expect fundraising to be as high this year as a result of COVID-19 restrictions, Ms Winter said it's just as important as ever to support the work of Legacy.
"We want to let people know that Legacy's still around; it hasn't died because COVID's come," she said.
"In the past we have had wonderful support from Moree and district and Torchbearers have helped raise a lot of money.
"Unfortunately there's a lot of younger widows and children who need support now."
Although there are no young widows or children in Moree, Moree Legacy Division currently supports 20 older war widows, providing compassionate support and practical assistance where it's needed.
"We've supplied items such as personal alarms and walkers to some of our widows in need," Ms Winter said.
"We were taking them out for monthly lunches, but we're not doing that anymore because of COVID. Instead, Legatees get in contact with their widows to make sure they're okay."
Legacy is one of Australia's oldest charities, and currently supports 52,000 widows/widowers and 1,845 children and dependants with a disability.
The theme of this year's Legacy Week is 'Little badge. Big Impact', emphasising the significant impact that buying a small badge can have on a veteran's family.
