麻豆传媒AV

Because the month of April was declared Daffodil Month by the Canadian Cancer Society, volunteers have been busy delivering and selling bright, yellow daffodils to help raise money to support the fight against cancer, according to the society鈥檚 website.

The Endeavour and District Community Club sold out of daffodils quickly when they distributed the flowers鈥� blooms in the surrounding area on April 5.

聽鈥淲e feel that selling daffodils is very important as all the funds go directly back to the Cancer Society,鈥� said Jeannette Jaques. 鈥淔or numerous years we have been selling daffodils as a fundraiser for the Cancer Society and we usually sell the daffodils very quickly. We are firm believers in supporting the Cancer Society," she said.

Some of the group met at the Trinity United Church in Preeceville to sort and deliver the daffodils to organizations and individuals in the area who had purchased the flowers.

The daffodil is the Canadian Cancer Society's symbol of hope in the fight against cancer. The cheerful blooms are sold every year and mark the beginning of the Society's annual聽 in April, according to the website.

Daffodil Days began in Toronto in the 1950s, it said. A group of Canadian Cancer Society volunteers organized a fundraising tea and decided to decorate the tables with daffodils. The bright, cheerful flowers created an atmosphere that seemed to radiate hope and faith that cancer could be beaten. Soon these gatherings came to be known as daffodil teas.

Jackie Brockie, a volunteer who also worked at Eaton's, supported the idea of daffodil teas and arranged for Lady Eaton to host a tea in the store. Seven hundred women attended.

Another volunteer, Lane Knight, arranged for restaurants to give part of their receipts to the Society on the opening day of the door-to-door campaign in 1956. Canadian Cancer Society volunteers were on hand at local restaurants to give patrons a daffodil as a token of appreciation when they paid for their meals. The sight of so many daffodils being carried around the city created interest. When some people tried to pay for the flowers or make donations, the Canadian Cancer Society quickly realized that the sale of daffodils would generate additional funds.

Fran Shannon, another Canadian Cancer Society volunteer, headed the team that planned the sale of daffodils on the streets of Toronto the following year. An anonymous donor paid for 5,000 blooms to be flown from British Columbia where the growing season starts earlier than in Ontario.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The daffodils were an instant success, raising more than $1,200 the first year. The idea was adopted by other provinces across Canada as well as the American Cancer Society.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 In 2009 daffodil sales raised $2.9 million for the Canadian Cancer Society in Ontario.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Today, the Canadian Cancer Society is the world's largest purchaser of daffodils and the growers in British Columbia must arrange their plantings to meet the needs of the Society鈥檚 spring demand for live blooms.

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听 Daffodils are flowers symbolizing friendship and are one of the most popular flowers exclusively due to their unmatched beauty.

聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Daffodils are native mainly to the Mediterranean region, in particular to the Iberian Peninsula, as well as Northern Africa and the Middle East.听