Sample Press Release: April is Stress Awareness Month

Instructions: To send this press releases to your local media, cut and paste the desired text onto your shop’s letterhead. BE SURE to replace the RED TEXT with your information, and customize with your own quotes.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: (Name)

(Contact e-mail address)

(Contact phone number)

April is Stress Awareness Month

Scientific Research Shows Your Local Florist
May Hold the Key to Stress Relief

(City, State), (Date)–

Taxes. Finances. Work overload. Health concerns. Americans are stressed. In fact, according to a survey by Wakefield Research, 68 percent of people feel stress on a weekly basis, and 32 percent are stressed every day. Women, in particular, are affected, as one in four report experiencing stress multiple times a day.

Almost everyone can relate to stress, and scientific research offers a surprisingly simple way to help relieve it – flowers. According to a study conducted at the University of North Florida, living with flowers significantly reduces stress.

“Our findings are important from a public health perspective because adding flowers to reduce stress does not require tremendous effort to generate a meaningful effect,” said lead researcher Erin Largo-Wight, Ph.D., Associate Professor of University of North Florida’s Department of Public Health. “When life seems to be in a constant state of frenzy, flowers can provide us with a much-needed moment of calm.”

These findings follow decades of behavioral research studies conducted by researchers at universities including Harvard, Rutgers and Texas A&M that demonstrate flowers’ ability to make people happy, strengthen feelings of compassion, foster creativity and even provide a boost of energy.

(Name), owner of (Name of florist shop), sees the well-being effects of flowers illustrated on a daily basis. (CUSTOM QUOTE GOES HERE … something to the effect of: “There is definitely a calming quality to flowers. We see it every time a customer walks in the shop. Even if they are hurried and frazzled, they seem more relaxed and less rushed when they leave,” said (last name). “Making someone’s day brighter is why we do what we do.”

In recognition of April being Stress Awareness Month, the Society of American Florists, of which (name of florist shop) is a member, offers these tips for using flowers to help relax and unwind:

• Experience flowers: Walk into your local florist and take a look around. Just the sight and smell of the natural beauty of flowers will put you at ease. Ask your florist to show you what’s in the cooler so you can learn about new varieties, colors and design styles.
• Find peace: If you are having a bad day when it seems like nothing is going right, try flowers in soothing, tranquil colors, such as blues, lavenders and pale greens. Place a small arrangement on your nightstand or in your bathroom, so you can experience the stress-relieving benefits of flowers right before you go to bed, and right when you get up to start your day.
• Help others: Sometimes the best way to relieve stress and the pressures of the day, is to do something nice for someone else. Here’s an idea: Go to your florist and buy two bouquets. Keep one for yourself, then take the other bouquet and “petal it forward” to a stranger on the street. You’ll be amazed at the reaction to your random act of kindness.
• Give yourself some joy: One great way to reconnect with joy and feel less stressed is to surround yourself with simple things that make you feel happy and loved, like a colorful bunch of flowers or a blooming plant. Flowers have the power to open hearts, and when your heart is open you are more likely to focus on the positive points in your day.
• Be a friend: Do you have a friend or loved one who could use a boost? Have flowers delivered unexpectedly to their door, and watch their ordinary day become extraordinary. It will make you smile, too.
• Color your world: Color therapists say colors really do affect our moods. The happiest color? Orange. It promotes optimism, enthusiasm, and a sense of uplift. Choose orange flowers — roses, gerberas, lilies, ranunculus, alstroemeria, tulips — to put on your kitchen counter or your work desk, and see your mood soar.
• Pepper your house with small doses of calm: When bringing home flowers from your florist, have a couple of small vases and containers available so you can place a few flowers in different parts of your living space. You’ll be amazed how many small arrangements you can get out of a single bunch of flowers, and you’ll have constant reminders to ‘stop and smell the flowers.’

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Editor’s Note:

For more information on the UNF research, visit: www.aboutflowers.com/stressless

For an interview or to ride along on a flower delivery, please contact (contact information goes here).

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