Plant a flower in the garden of hope this daffodil day
Last month more than 200,000 paper daffodils were sent around Ireland inviting recipients from all over, including Mayo, to write a message of hope, remembrance or celebration for someone they know affected by cancer.
On Daffodil Day – Friday, March 27 - the Irish Cancer Society will plant these paper daffodils in the Iveagh Gardens, Dublin, in a special 'Garden of Hope' to celebrate and remember all those in Ireland affected by cancer.
Last year over 3,000 flowers were planted as part of Garden of Hope and €210,407 was raised from this initiative. Over the last five years, the Garden of Hope has raised almost €1,000,000 as part of Daffodil Day.
The garden will open at 7.30 a.m. and will remain intact until 5.30 p.m. Visitors can wander through the garden, read messages and enjoy the display. Flowers will be numbered too, so if you returned a daffodil with a special message for someone you love you will be able to find your daffodil.
If you want to dedicate a flower as a tribute to someone you care about, you still can - simply visit www.cancer.ie/gardenofhope and make a dedication online. You have until tomorrow (Thursday, March 26) to do so. Your message will be printed on to a paper daffodil to be planted on the day.
Funds raised on Daffodil Day by thousands of volunteers across Ireland go directly to fund the work of the Irish Cancer Society across support, prevention, research and advocacy. Night nursing is one service funded by Daffodil Day. Last year, the society’s nurses provided 7,800 nights of care to over 1,670 patients. Of that, 499 nights of care were provided to 78 patients in Mayo. This service is fully funded by the people of Ireland, who consistently support the work of the society.
John McCormack, CEO of the Irish Cancer Society, said: “Our thousands of loyal supporters in Mayo and across the country are ready for Daffodil Day on Friday. This is our biggest fundraising day and with cancer rates increasing every year, we want to ensure that we can continue to meet the demand for our services and cancer research work.”
There are a number of ways you can support Daffodil Day. You can buy a daffodil or Daffodil Day merchandise on the day from a street seller, make a donation by phone on CallSave 1850 60 60 60, make a secure donation online at cancer.ie, text Daff to 50300 to donate €4 (all of that €4 goes to the society unless a provider applies VAT, when a minimum of €3.25 goes to the society), or buy Daffodil Day merchandise from the online shop, cancer.ie/shop.