For the past 10 years, in the week leading up to Nov. 11, retired army captain Arthur Hughes has stationed himself at the corner of Robson and Hornby streets in downtown Vancouver collecting donations for poppies. On duty 10 hours a day, seven days a week, Mr. Hughes last year raised $16,300.50 - the most collected by anyone in Canada. For Mr. Hughes, 76, interacting with people gives him the most pleasure. 'The best part are the vast majority of people who are very friendly.' He has seen a variety of donations in his 10 years, but two in particular stand out: the smallest and the largest. 'The smallest donation was two cents, but it really wasn't small to the fella who gave it because he said he didn't have a cent to his name ... so I commended him for donating as much as he could. And one time a Korean businessman came by and wrote a cheque on the spot of $1,000, which was quite remarkable.'
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"One of the interesting things about volunteering is the range of people
that you meet - last year
I totalled 27 different countries."
Arthur Hughes,
retired army captain
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IN HIS OWN WORDS: VISIT GLOBEANDMAIL.COM/LIFE TO WATCH A MINI-DOCUMENTARY