CURIOUS CITY
Behind the scenes of Daffodil Day
For most of us, Daffodil Day is simply one day a year: on the last Friday of August, the streets are doused in yellow as Cancer Society collectors rattle their buckets and hand out flowers, teddy bears and stickers.
But for the people behind the scenes it takes months of preparation, about 9000 volunteer collectors, and 200 fulltime-equivalent staff, to make that one day a success.
Growers pick and prepare thousands of bunches of flowers, which are trucked to different parts of New Zealand.
Various suppliers make baskets and other items for the day. Fabric pins and bears are made in China, then shipped here, and volunteers are wrangled to help raise the funds.
While some of the donated money covers campaign costs, it is mostly filtered into helping the one in three people affected by cancer, according to the Cancer Society’s Wellington chief executive, Mike Smith.
Any money collected in Wellington is spent locally. Nationally, about $5 million was raised last year through Daffodil Day.
And why the daffodil? It’s a sign of hope, and of spring, Smith says. ‘‘It’s quite an uplifting type of flower. It’s in our Cancer Society logo, it’s who we are.’’
This year 600 volunteers collected money in Wellington for Daffodil Day on August 25.
Patsy Dowling, of Thorndon, has given up her time for the past 27 years. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and died in 1960. Dowling said she also had a ‘‘close shave’’ but identified her symptoms early because of the information now made available to the public.
She said it gave her a ‘‘warm, fuzzy feeling’’ to collect on the day, and she was always astounded by the generosity of the community. I was a lucky one. The least I could do was do my bit.’’
Each year brought her back to a volunteer role, because the Cancer Society ‘‘probably saved my life’’.
Theresa Keogh and Mel Burgess handed out fresh daffodils on behalf of Tourism New Zealand and the Cancer Society. They said a colleague died just 43 days after she was diagnosed with cancer last year.
Representing her through Daffodil Day was ‘‘really special’’.
Clandon Daffodils owners Ian Riddell and wife Marian are one of the Cancer Society’s major fresh flower suppliers.
This year more than 150,000 daffodils were sent to Waikato and Bay of Plenty from their 21-acre block near Hamilton. In the past 20 years, the August rush for fresh flowers had tripled, Ian Riddell said.
The biggest problem was the weather. ‘‘There’s been years when we haven’t made it and come up short.’’
His motivation was hope that cancer could be beaten. He also loves the flowers. ‘‘When you look at the boring bulb ... the amazing beauty that comes out of it, it’s beyond belief really.’’