Next month marks 100 years since the first poppy appeal to remember those who serve in our armed forces.
But the RSA needs help with fundraising - and this year they'll make poppies available to buy for the entire month of April after two years hampered by COVID.
Piece by piece, poppies are punched together with perfect precision from a small factory on the outskirts of Christchurch in preparation for the biggest appeal in years. Every poppy sold in New Zealand is made here.
"The actual physical manufacturing is done here by this machine and we can produce up to a million a year," volunteer Geoff Smith says.
That can translate to millions of much-needed dollars for the RSA.
"We get one chance a year," RSA president BJ Clark says.
This year is even more important as it's the 100th year of the symbolic poppy.
"It should mean a lot to the country because the life we enjoy today is very much due to the sacrifice and service," Clark says.
The face of that duty is changing and the RSA is focussing on the younger generation who serve overseas and at home.
"Now our younger veterans come home quietly and they go about their day and I don't think the public understand the stresses and strains," Clark says.
Stresses and strains can be helped with the estimated $2 million raised by the RSA in a normal year - and every dollar saved goes back to those who need it the most.
"The distribution process has been very much facilitated by sponsorship from NZ Couriers, that's been a great help to us," Smith says.
