From processing flowers and assembling bouquets to attaching stickers or cards and representing your shop as “Happiness Ambassadors,” having a few extra hands on deck to help with your Oct. 11 Petal It Forward event is a smart move.
“Now is the time to invite staff, regular customers or family members to participate as volunteers,” said the Society of American Florists Vice President of Marketing Jennifer Sparks. “They’ll lighten your load and help promote the effort through their own connections. Ask area nonprofits and civic groups if they’d like to participate.”
SAF Chairman Shirley Lyons, AAF, PFCI, of Dandelions Flowers & Gifts in Eugene, Oregon, organized Petal It Forward events in 2015 and 2016. Members of a local sorority who needed community service hours wrapped roses in cello and attached Petal It Forward cards for her event last year. Lyons plans to invite volunteers to help this year, and offers this advice to other florists: “The key is to know clearly what you want volunteers to do, have supplies ready and show an example. Tell. Show. Do.”
Rakini Chinery, AAF, AzMF, owner of Allan’s Flowers and More in Prescott, Arizona, also recommends getting help with Petal It Forward. “We had volunteers help assemble the bouquets and hand them out,” Chinery said. “We hold a monthly ‘Wine & Design’ class, and a number of those participants helped assemble, plus posted it on Facebook. We got five more people to help from that posting.”
Like Lyons, she gets help with the Petal It Forward cards. “This year, I’ll ask volunteers and staff to attach the Petal It Forward cards onto the raffia ties we use,” Chinery said. “My sister and daughter like to do this at night while watching TV.”
Chinery also roped in a restaurant. “We do a lot of fundraisers with a local Mexican restaurant,” she said. “They provided lunch on the day we assembled flowers and the owner helped assemble the bouquets as well. A few members of the restaurant staff helped hand out bouquets.”
Jenny Behlings, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, SDCF, owner of Jenny’s Floral in Custer, South Dakota, put a call out last year to her local P.E.O., an organization dedicated to promoting educational opportunities for women. “They were thrilled to give out flowers,” Behlings said. “I will certainly ask them again — it’s a feel-good event for all involved.”
Petal It Forward is a “random acts of kindness” type of flower giveaway, where consumers on the street receive two flower bouquets (or flowers) — one to keep and one to share — to demonstrate the Rutgers University research that shows flowers make people happy. SAF first led the industry to Petal It Forward in 2015. The 2016 campaign included 262 events in 234 cities in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, generating more 328 million consumer impressions showcasing the positive impact flowers have on emotional well-being.
Don’t have the time or resources for a large effort? That’s okay, said Sparks. “Even handing out 20-50 bouquets or single stems can make an impact, and it’s a nice way to get your feet wet in participating in this nationwide event,” she added.
SAF is compiling a list of local Petal It Forward events to show national media that this event is happening all over the country on Oct. 11. Get your event listed by completing the Petal It Forward Participation Form at safnow.org/PIFform.
Members have exclusive access to step-by-step Petal It Forward advice and materials at safnow.org/petalitforward.
