Red poppies will be seen all over Austin on Friday and Saturday with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Club’s annual fundraiser.

Mayor Tom Stiehm proclaimed Friday as Buddy Poppy Day at the Monday’s Austin City Council meeting and encouraged citizens to wear a poppy as “mute evidence of gratitude to the men and women who risked their lives in defense of freedoms which we continue to enjoy as American citizens.”

Nathan Lee, of the VFW, said all proceeds from the fundraiser will remain local.

“The biggest reason is all the money we raise stays in the community,” Lee said. “A lot of fundraisers send it to national organizations, but ours is kept local and the funds are used to help veterans.”

If a veteran comes by the VFW and tell them they are having problems with unemployment or financial hardship, the VFW discusses it and makes a decision on how to help them. Most of the time, veterans get grants that help them in their time of need, Lee said.

The poppies are free, but a free-will donation is accepted, he added.

The wearing of poppies originally came from a poem, “In Flanders Fields,” written in 1915 by John McCrae.

“Any veteran helped really appreciates it from the community,” Lee said. “The more we raise, the more opportunity we have to help.”