Lesa Fenwick sent her local paper one of the Society of American Florists’ press releases for Petal It Forward, resulting in a prominent feel-good story after her 2019 event.
In 2019, Lesa Fenwick and her team gave away 165 Petal It Forward bouquets in less than hour. This year, knowing people are especially in need of a reason to smile, Fenwick pre-ordered 200 from Len Busch Roses. Among the tools she’s using in her 2020 effort: Facebook Events, SAF research on the health benefits of flowers, and best practices to keep her team and community safe.
Lesa Fenwick and her friend Jason Smith pass out bouquets in Wayzata, Minnesota during Petal It Forward 2019.
The Len Busch team recruited Fenwick, owner of Candlelight Floral & Gifts in Wayzata, Minnesota, to participate in its annual Petal It Forward event back in 2015. Last year, they encouraged her to spread the love further by hosting her own separate event. “Georgia Edgington, said, ‘You’ve been doing this with us long enough. I think it’s time to do your own!’ I agreed because I love the day and thought, ‘Why not spread flowers to more areas of the Twin Cities?’” Fenwick said.
She’s still brainstorming with Edgington and Jason Lenz, Len Busch’s director of business development, about how precautions against COVID-19 transmission will affect logistics this year. But her tentative plan is to setup on Lake Street, an area along Lake Minnetonka that’s populated with many businesses, restaurants and retail shops. “It’s a very picturesque spot with lots of people going in and out of businesses, walking their dogs, grabbing coffee, etc.,” she said. “Of course, we will have our masks on, and we may even hand out disinfectant wipes with the bouquets.”
Starting October 1, Fenwick plans to advertise Petal It Forward twice a week on social media, increasing to a daily push the week of the event. “Last year I really hammered on the social media front,” she said. “I even had a few friends come into town to participate and spread the word through their own social networks.”
In particular, she’s found that creating a Facebook Event for Petal It Forward works well — it’s an easy and convenient way for people to leave comments, ask questions and hit “share,” she explained. She also likes to repost stories from the Society of American Florists about the health benefits of flowers, as well as Petal It Forward. “That’s great content for me to share with my followers,” she said. Fenwick often punctuates her posts with peace, flower and heart emojis, as well as the hashtags #dogood #spreadlove and, of course, #petalitforward.
Additionally, she intends to reach out to the media for an additional push. “Last year, I sent out the SAF press release to our two local papers, and one did a story after the event,” she said. The reporter found her on the street and asked some follow up questions. “I was grateful to have that pre-made press release ready for me to just input my shop’s information!”
Fenwick is optimistic that, even in this most unusual year, Petal It Forward will achieve its mission of revealing how good it feels to not only receive, but to give flowers. “It’s truly one of our favorite days of the year,” she said. “We’re typically on a high for a couple days after the event with all the happiness we spread and receive!”
Find out more about SAF’s 2020 Petal It Forward initiative, including how to register and access updated tools and information that you can use to create and customize your own event.
Katie Vincent is the senior contributing writer and editor for the Society of American Florists.