Albertans will soon be getting their War Amps key tags in the mail.
Public Awareness Officer Jamie Lunn says there has been some delays in sending them out due to the pandemic, but residents should be getting them soon.
The key tag service started in 1946 after World War Two and raises awareness and support for amputees across the country. Each tag has a unique code on it which has been assigned to each individual person. If found, keys can be dropped into any Canada Post mailbox and it will be sent to the owners.
Another way to return the lost keys is to call the toll-free number on the back of the tag.
“They’ll reach the customer service line of the War Amps and they’ll be able to give us that nine digit number which is linked to someone’s name and address. We’ll send a bonded courier to pick up the keys and deliver them to the person that lost them. We encourage calling that number because it is faster.”
“We’ve been doing this for quite some time now and we’ve returned over a million and a half sets of lost keys. The services works and when you get the key ring in the mail it’s already active.”
The service is free and is funded through donations. The War Amps does not receive any government funding for the program. Lunn says while COVID-19 has affected the shipment of key tags, it hasn’t had much impact in other areas of the organization.
“We’re very confident that we are still able to provide our services and support amputees across Canada. With that said, we always appreciate all those that do donate to the War Amps because it really does help to fund all of the things that are needed for amputees across Canada.”
Those who haven’t received their key tag or are looking to sign up for the service can call 1-800-250-3030 or visit the War Amps website.