Alleged coupon scam is a big misunderstanding, veterans charity says – HighRiverOnline.com

An alleged scam at Okotoks turned out to be a legitimate fundraiser for veterans.

Earlier in the week, the Okotoks Legion heard of a man posing as a Legion member selling fake coupon books at local businesses.

A few of their members had bought books, thinking that the profits would benefit the Ukrainian people.

It turned out to be a legitimate fundraiser for a non-profit organization called “True Patriot Love”.

A representative of the non-profit organization appeared at three businesses in Okotoks to sell $25 coupon books, with permission from the owners/managers of the business.

Somewhere along the line alarm bells rang for a Legion member who relayed the sighting to the Legion itself, which informed all of its members, before any further sightings were reported. .

Fundraiser organizer Keenan Tameling says he was able to quickly determine what happened and contact Okotoks RCMP to clear things up, but by then the news had spread. quite widespread.

“We basically clarified that we are associated with a legitimate and active charity for veterans, and that we have a coupon book and that all businesses honor coupons and are active businesses and that there is no But by then, we’ve already acknowledged that apparently a whole bunch of media noticed it and there was this swirling storm that we’ve never experienced. “

He also contacted the Legion to assure them that the volunteer was not posing as a member.

“I really thought of it as ‘you know what? They’re just trying to protect the veterans, the Legion, stuff like that. So when they released this APB to all their members, they were just trying to protect people. also learned from talking to the RCMP that apparently Okotoks is a bit of a target place for people doing unwarranted solicitations with fake charities and things like that so maybe the whole population here is aware and sensitive to this kind of scam.”

True Patriot Love supports a number of veteran organizations, including the Calgary Alpha House Society, the Calgary Veterans Food Bank, and the Military Families Support Society.

“I like to call them United Way of Veterans Charities because they basically help different veterans charities with their projects, get their programming funding and that sort of thing,” says Tameling.

The coupon book itself features several Calgary businesses and a few from Okotoks, including Cha Cha John’s and Millenium Lanes.

“I’m glad to be able to clear things up and let people know that our coupon book is a legitimate fundraising activity for True Patriot Love, and it’s a great charity for veterans. who does a great job with veterans across the country, and that our fundraising book targets those funds locally.”