The War Amps made an appearance at Woodroffe campus Sept. 25 and 26 to try and connect with the younger generation.
The charity has been around since 1918 and is widely known among the older generation. But now they are branching out and trying to connect with younger people by making appearances on campuses around Ottawa.
The organization’s mission is to raise funds for amputees through their key tag service. Prosthetic limbs are expensive, costing many thousands of dollars and can be massive financial burden on families.
“We are here, hoping to connect with students to let them know about the free service we provide to Canadian,” said Jamie Lunn, public awareness officer for The War Amps. “We are hoping that they are interested and do sign up, so later when they’re in their careers and making a little bit of money that we are that charity of choice that they choose.”
James Jordan has benefited from the charitable works of the organization. He was born without a right arm and grew up in The War Amps community and is now its safety events coordinator.
“The War Amps has been a big part of my life and the biggest thing they did for me when growing up was providing me with financial assistance for artificial limbs,” he said. “The arm I’m wearing now is worth about $25,000 and I would never be able to afford that on my own so I am very thankful that the War Amps were able to provide me financial assistance.”
But for Jordan and those like him, The War Amps is more than just financial help.
“It has given me tons of confidence in my life and tons of friends,” said Jordan.
The charity puts on an event called Champ Seminar, where amputees from different provinces get together for a weekend. This event allows people who are facing the same struggles to meet and talk.
“I was really involved in those, which was great because I met a lot of people like me from around the country and it was a huge part of my life,” said Jordan. “We are a big family, that’s what it feels like.”
The key tag service is designed for those who lose their keys often. The service provides a tag with a code on it to attach to a set of keys. If the set is lost, a stranger can return the keys to The War Amps. After the charity receives the lost keys they connect the code with the address on file and ship the keys back to the rightful owner.