Daffodils Add Color and Offer Hope
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For the last several years, Shores Floral has conducted a daffodil fundraising campaign during the month of March. The shop's current owner Tomi Simenson has decided to carry on the tradition and has named A Serving of Hope as the benefactor of the funds generated from daffodil sales.
According to Simenson, the daffodils will begin to arrive this week, so anyone interested can speak for them now or at any time during the entire month of March-unless supplies run out before then. "The sunny yellow of a daffodil is just so cheery, especially now when there is no color outside. Their blooms simply brighten a room," Simenson stated.
The daffodils will be sold in bunches, with Serving of Hope receiving 70 per cent of the sales. Simenson chose the Serving of Hope fund because it provides financial assistance for those needing to travel due to a serious medical condition.
Although that condition doesn't have to be cancer, it often is, and Simenson's family has its own cancer story.
Serving of Hope is one of the funds managed by the Northern Montana Health (NMH) Care Foundation. The fund will pay initial assistance of up to $500.00 per applicant as a way to defray some of the costs connected to medically required travel, lodging, and meals.
Julianne LaSmith, Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator for Northern Montana Health Care as well as Secretary for the Foundation, reported that residents of Phillips, Blaine, Hill, Liberty, and the Big Sandy Census District of Chouteau Counties are all eligible to apply for financial assistance from the fund. Applications are available online at nmhcare.org by clicking on the Foundation hyperlink or by calling the NMH Foundation at 406-262-1419.
La Smith further revealed that since 2017, the fund has paid out $74,250.00 to 146 Hi-Line residents that are dealing with a medical emergency.
Several volunteers have graciously signed up to sell daffodils for this event. They include Carol Johnsrud (406-357-3232), Inez Halseth (406-357-2940), Nancy Snider (406-379-2343), Lucy Fairbank (406-379-2293), and Julianne LaSmith (406-262-1410). Each of these individuals will accept an order by phone.
Anyone attracted to this fundraising idea can call one of the daffodil volunteers listed above to place an order and reserve their flowers, or patrons can simply stop by Shores Floral at 304 Indiana Street in Chinook, pay for the number of bouquets desired, and either pick up the flowers or secure a place on the list. Shores will be accepting phone orders as well. Their phone number is 406-357-2776.
Given its early blooming status and its colorful contribution to the theme of springtime and rebirth, the sunny daffodil was not only chosen by the American Cancer Society to bring hope to cancer patients and those affected by the disease but was also selected as the birth flower for the month of March.
Beyond brightening the gloomiest of days, the yellow trumpets of daffodils have also inspired writers. William Wordsworth, the legendary British poet, wrote of the flowers in his classic poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud," describing them as "tossing their heads in sprightly dance."
The rain that fell in many areas around Blaine County in the early morning hours of March 1 was also a welcome sign of spring. Several farmers and ranchers were celebrating the moisture, their comments mirroring the words of another poet, e.e. cummings, who described springtime as "mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful."
René Brown reported: "I never thought I would be so happy about muddy Malamute tracks all over my floors."
