Interested Airdrie residents can expect to find some War Amps key tags in their mailbox this month, as the organization began shipping the tags to the city on May 16.
Residents who have signed up for the key tag service in the past will receive their tags automatically, while those who are interested in the service can order their key tags online or by calling the War Amps toll-free number, 1-800-250-3030.
According to a War Amps press release, the Key Tag Service was launched in 1946 to help employ veterans who had lost their limbs in the Second World War. Today, the Key Tag Service continues to employ amputees and people with disabilities.
The key tags' purpose is to return lost keys to their owner. Each key tag has a confidential code located on the back. Should someone lose their keys, the finder of the keys can call the toll-free number on the tag or place them in any mailbox within Canada and the War Amps will return the keys to their rightful owner.
The key tags and the service of sending the keys back to their owner are both free of charge. However, the War Amps does have a donation page where monetary donations are always welcome.
According to Bob Maguire, a public awareness officer for the War Amps, donations help to pay for prosthetics for children across the country.
The War Amps is not government-funded and only operates thanks to donations, Maguire added.
“[The War Amps] spends less than 10 per cent on administration, so all the donations that come in through the key tags are funded to make the next set so we can continue with the service,” he said. “It allows us to fund and help amputees.”
Made in Canada, the key tags are produced in a sheltered workshop, meaning the War Amps “employs differently-abled people,” Maguire said.
An amputee himself, Maguire has been a War Amps member since he was four years old, after being born a partial right-hand amputee.
The War Amps Child Amputee Program (CHAMP) assists people like Maguire with receiving financial assistance for artificial limbs. The CHAMP program also hosts seminars for children and their parents to attend, covering topics such as handling bullying and/or staring, as well as parenting a child with an amputation.
Many children in Alberta have benefitted from the CHAMP Program, according to Maguire. With the donations raised by the key tag service, he said the War Amps are able to help children with amputations and their parents.
“We’re happy for the support in Alberta,” Maguire said. “There’s a lot of CHAMPs that are in Alberta, so the support we receive helps amputees in the province and across Canada.”
