Save the date! Wednesday, Oct. 19 is the date of this year’s Petal It Forward, the Society of American Florist’s international goodwill initiative, where on one day thousands of floral industry participants hand two flowers or bouquets to an unsuspecting stranger, urging them to keep one and share the other with someone else. SAF has resources to help you prepare to work with the media, plan your distribution points and find community organizations to partner with.

• Alert the media. Once you’ve registered your event, reach out to media outlets and inform them about your plans for Oct. 19 – let them know it’s part of a national and international effort to demonstrate the positive health benefits of giving and receiving flowers. Get tips to boost your media coverage, talking points, and a sample press release or media advisory here. Check out these success stories from 2021 Petal It Forward events.
• Plan your distribution points. Craft a plan of what you will be passing out (bouquets or single stems) and how you plan to execute the day depending on your team’s workload and availability, product availability, and other factors. Use your business network to help find a sponsor or partner for the event and work with your wholesaler to help supply the product. Get more tips to help you plan here.
• Partner with community organizations. Reach out to restaurant owners, police officers, schools, clubs and other community members to help distribute flowers. Learn how to honor your community here and explore how others have used Petal It Forward to help their communities.

Find more resources here, and make sure to notify SAF of your 2022 event by registering, so we can track the number of participants across the country and around the globe.

Stephanie Brady is the project manager for the Society of American Florists.