Bloom or bust
Canadian Cancer Society cancels annual daffodil sale.
Volunteers for the Canadian Cancer Society were busy Tuesday – not preparing for their annual daffodil sale, which was scheduled to start Thursday – but putting up “cancelled” signs on the promotional posters.
The daffodil sale has been the society’s major fundraiser since the 1950s, when bright yellow daffodils arrived to mark the beginning of Daffodil Month in April.
But this year, officials in Nova Scotia are scrambling, because when the shipment of daffodils arrived, they were found to be unfit to sell.
“When we opened the boxes of flowers they were already either fully in bloom or they were past the point of full bloom, which means that we can’t transport them for sale, said Barbara SteadCoyle, national vice-president annual development and former CEO of the Nova Scotia Division, Canadian Cancer Society.
The society lost 33,000 bunches of daffodils, which were supposed to be sent out to local organizations across Nova Scotia to sell.
Last year, the daffodil sale raised $ 300,000 in Nova Scotia, which Stead- Coyle said represents five to seven per cent of the organization’s annual revenue.
“It seems to be an issue of improper storage during shipping at this point,” she said.
Janet Godfrey is co- ordinator with the Queens Daffodil Campaign. Her volunteers were busy Tuesday putting cancelled signs on posters throughout the region.
Volunteers found out about the problem Monday.
“It’s some kind of a shipping issue that when they ar- rived they were in full bloom,” she said.
Godfrey says the money raised through the annual sale of daffodils helps children go to camp, helps pay for the Lodge That Gives in Halifax, an affordable place for cancer patients and their families to stay, and for cancer research.
“It’s quite disappointing for us because being the co- ordinator I had people that I had to call and say ‘ Thank you so much for all the work that you have done, but you have to give the money back if you’ve collected any, and you have to let people know that there will be no daffodils.’”
The society is still urging Nova Scotians to donate during Daffodil Month, even though there are no daffodils to sell. Daffodil pins will be available at local Sobeys stores.
Stead- Coyle said people can donate through the office or online.
There will also be an opportunity to purchase potted daffodils through a national partnership with Loblaws Inc. which will be piloting an expansion of potted daffodil sales in the Maritimes including Nova Scotia for 2016. The daffodils ( potted only) will be available for sale in Atlantic Superstores from April 7- 20.