Look for Poppy ladies outside of Wal-Mart this Wednesday and Thursday.

The ladies of the American Legion Post 24 Auxiliary will be in red, white and blue and holding handfuls of red crepe paper flowers handmade by South Carolina veterans.

“We don’t sell them, we take donations,” says Newberry Poppy Chairwoman Ann Graham, who says she has distributed poppies annually for the past 20 years.

She says they prefer a dollar for each flower, but will take any amount.

Financial donors receive the poppy flower, and injured veterans and their families across the state receive the funds for care.

The Newberry group got a shipment of 1,500 poppies to exchange for donations this year. The 1,500 brought in $1,938 last year, says Graham.

The Newberry Post 24 Auxiliary sends 20 percent of the poppy money to the Columbia American Legion Auxiliary.

The remaining money stays at the Post 24 Auxiliary and helps pay for veterans transportation to the veteran’s clinic in Columbia and “whatever is needed,” says Graham.

The poppy-for-veterans idea stems from “The Poppy Lady,” Moina Belle Michael, who in 1918 asked businessmen to wear the flower in honor of soldiers killed in battle.

From Michael’s work, the long stemmed red crepe paper blooms now symbolize American soldiers’ sacrifice and shed blood during war.

Poppies are distributed each year before Memorial Day.