Karen Young asked herself one essential question the first year she decided to participate in the Society of American Florists’ Petal It Forward giveaway: Which location will be the busiest?
The answer came to her quickly.
“The school drop-off line is crazy,” says Young, of Country Flowers and Gifts in Emory, Texas. “We are in a really small town, but the school drop-off line at the elementary and intermediate schools is long. That’s where everyone is in the morning.”
Location is key to tailoring Petal It Forward to a business’s unique needs and ensuring a successful event, where participants give two flowers or bouquets to an unsuspecting person, encouraging them to keep one and share the other. SAF’s annual goodwill initiative, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, can take place anywhere — from the salesfloor of a florist to the busier areas of their communities.
For five years Young has found the right audience at the schools. She alerts the principals and has high school student volunteers help distribute about 500 bouquets. She arrives at 6:30 a.m. before the onslaught of students.
“A lot of the kids take the second bouquet into their teacher, so it’s building goodwill among the teachers too,” she says.
While the school drop-off line is a hit in Emory, Texas, it isn’t the answer for every florist. Dooley’s Florist & Gifts stood at the busiest intersection in Florissant, Missouri, to hand out flowers last year. It was such a success, that they attracted the attention of the local media television station and plan to head to the same spot this year.
For Katie Burbank, co-owner of Ridgefield Floral & Gifts in Ridgefield, Washington, part of the value of the day is bringing attention to downtown businesses. She spends all day roaming downtown surprising people with flowers. Ridgefield Floral & Gifts is on the corner of the main road leading into downtown and the first business visitors see as they enter the district that’s filled with locally owned businesses.
“I take pride in doing it myself and walking around our community of downtown businesses,” Burbank says.
Supporting other local businesses is part of the allure of Petal It Forward for Oil City Floral Design in Oil City, Pennsylvania. Last year, the store opted to partner with the busiest coffee shop to distribute flowers.
“It was awesome,” says Maddy Stephan, a designer at the store. “It just brought a smile to everyone’s face.”
They placed buckets of bouquets at the coffee shop, and both businesses advertised the giveaway. The location attracted a steady flow of customers, and the flowers were gone by 10 a.m.
“People loved it,” Stephan recalls. “Everyone thought it was a nice thing.”
This year the florist is trying to decide whether to host Petal It Forward at the coffee shop again, or at another small business not far from the coffee shop. “It’s important that we involve others in the community,” Stephan says.
Want to host your own Petal It Forward? First, register, and then access SAF’S resources to make a plan, alert the media, make bouquet cards and more.
Sarah Sampson is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.
