Daffodil Days fundraising campaign underway
With the start of the new year, the American Cancer Society is kicking off one of its annual fundraising campaigns, Daffodil Days — a way for anyone to bring the joy of spring to loved ones and friends while also helping to raise funds for efforts to stop cancer.
The daffodil, a sign of hope and rebirth, has become a symbol of cancer awareness, and the cancer society holds a “Daffodil Days” fundraiser every March.
While Daffodil Days is a nationwide event, Dan Tobin, marketing director for the cancer society’s Northeast region, said the event has a great popularity in Pennsylvania.
“This is one of our big campaigns,” Tobin said. “It’s big in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is a really big area for this campaign.”
According to Tobin, support from Pennsylvanians is largely what saved the Daffodil Days program from being ended by the American Cancer Society. In 2013, the organization canceled the campaign due to rising costs and dropping participation, but local branches and businesses kept the tradition alive until the national organization brought it back in 2018.
“There was actually such an outcry, especially in Pennsylvania, that they brought it back,” Tobin said.
In Butler County, the local Daffodil Days campaign is largely run by one dependable volunteer — Toni Grupp, who has been involved with the American Cancer Society as a volunteer since 1998. Grupp said she was inspired to begin volunteering that year after losing her own mother to cancer.
According to Grupp, the local Daffodil Days campaign raised over $34,000 for the cancer society last year.
“Delivering daffodils is so rewarding,” Grupp said. “The ‘Flower of Hope’ brings a smile to many!”
A $15 donation will purchase 10 regular daffodils or 10 tulips. A $20 donation will buy a pot of mini daffodils, while a $25 donation will purchase a “Gift of Hope” — a delivery of flowers to a cancer patient at a hospital, treatment center or other facility.
“Gift of Hope gives people the opportunity to purchase a bunch of daffodils, and we deliver to cancer patients in a local hospitals,” Grupp said. “We also deliver Gift of Hope to cancer centers in Butler County.”
Orders for flowers are taken through Feb. 18, and flowers arrive the week of March 17.
Throughout the campaign, those who preordered flowers can pick them up directly from multiple locations, including the Butler Farm Market, Butler Memorial Hospital, Benbrook Surgery Center and Cranberry Township Municipal Center. Volunteers also can deliver flowers to residents in assisted living facilities.
To learn how to volunteer in this year’s campaign or order daffodils, send Grupp an email at tgrupp@zoominternet.net.
