Run and directed by the Society of American Florists (SAF), the Petal It Forward initiative has been a rounding success, year after year. During the exchange, it has clearly been seen how flowers have the power to fix anyone's day and make people extra happy. Flowers are the real givers of instant dopamine, making this the main purpose of 'petaling' them forward between people. Learn more about what the event for 2024 will bring while marking it on your calendar for Wednesday, October 16th, 2024.
Petal It Forward - Happiness Through Flowers
For the past eight years, thousands of floral industry members from all fifty states throughout the United States have formed teams to participate in Petal It Forward, SAF's goodwill initiative in which participants hand two flowers or bouquets to an unsuspecting stranger, encouraging them to keep one and share the other with someone else. It's an effective technique demonstrating the health benefits of giving and receiving flowers. Studies have shown flowers to relieve tension and anxiety while also making people joyful. With successful past editions, they invite you this October 16th to propagate the power and love of flowers.
Photo by @amanda_giese
SAF shares:
"Now more than ever, we need to petal it forward".
This leading initiative is an excellent example of the industry banding together to achieve a common goal, and as an acknowledged association, each team member from SAF is honored to lead everyone who participates in this endeavor every year in October to improve consumer impressions of flowers. If you perform a rapid online search for 'mental health and COVID', you'll quickly get revealed that the pandemic's impact on people's emotional health and well-being was a very hot topic in the media.
Media outlets are hungry for stories that feed into this tendency, and editors are always looking for 'feel good' stories, given all of the despair in the news and this initiative works beautifully, with an honest cause behind it. The event is a great 'pay it forward' gesture adopted on a national scale by thousands of industry people. On this day, attendees take the chance to demonstrate the advantages of giving and receiving flowers, which should never, ever be underestimated.
Photo by jonescas
Teaching People That Receiving Flowers Is a Pleasure but Even More Fulfilling to Give Them
This year on October 16th, floral industry participants will have the chance to hand two flowers or bouquets to an unsuspecting stranger, urging them to keep one and share the other with someone else, evidencing the power of flowers between them. What reactions would you expect or think will be seen? Happiness and utter smiles everywhere. According to the Society of American Florists, the more people who know about this campaign, the more people will realize that flowers make thoughtful, emotional, and memorable gifts, and PS: they're essential to living a good, happy, fresh, and healthy life mentally.
"Petal It Forward aims to show people that it’s a pleasure to receive flowers — but it’s even more fulfilling to give them."
Photo by exploremidtown
Why You Should Support the 'Petal It Forward' Cause
Mark your calendars because the big date is only a few weeks away and will be an experience to remember. What better plan than getting together to hand out flowers to random strangers and get them a smile on their faces? Still unsure as to why you should support the Petal It Forward cause and what benefits will it bring to your life?
Photo by @dvflora
To kick off this series of well-being, it connects you, both with flowers and people. With an era of social distancing that took place a few years ago, some people forgot the meaning of connection and connecting with others. Petal It Forward helps bring that connection back! Everyone loves getting flowers and to get them as a surprise is even better. They’ll love getting the gift of flowers, you’ll love seeing their reaction, and it makes everyone happy in the end.
Secondly, florists up to this day keep facing challenges whether it be in selling their beautiful flowers, maintaining their businesses, etc. Supporting a local florist and buying flowers from them to Petal It Forward is a great idea. Last but not least, it's a fun event. Giving flowers to people you love or to strangers to make their day better is extremely fun! Their reactions make it the best and it’ll make you feel like you did something good for the people in your community.
Photo by @agentjohnroman
The Long-Lasting Benefits of Flowers
Those who work in the floral industry every day witness people's favorable reactions when they are exposed to flowers. The flower industry knows, in theory, that flowers making people happy is even an understatement. Flowers make people joyous, happy, eccentric, and feel alive! SAF has taken it a step further throughout the years, conducting innovative research studies in collaboration with major universities and human emotion researchers that scientifically confirm that flowers have a positive effect on humans' emotional well-being.
With the science underlying flowers, you can take this message to the world in order to spread the word about floral power. Petal It Forward is the ideal opportunity to include these discoveries in your message. If you were not able to attend last year, make sure to keep informed about updates on SAF's website where the registry, valuable information, and even the chance of becoming a SAF member is available.
