Honoring First-Responders With Tulips on International Women’s Day

Each year on March 8, we mark International Women’s Day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

On this day, the nonprofit organization Petals for Hope of Washington, D.C., delivered 1,000 bouquets of tulips to women on the front lines, in hospitals, nursing homes and women’s shelters, dontated by U.S. tulip growers and their European bulb suppliers.

In partnership with floral designer Sarah Campbell of Netflix fame, and tulip growers of the U.S., Petals for Hope chose 10 cities across the U.S., and Washington D.C. was one of them. The Georgetowner was on hand at the Children’s National Medical Center for the delivery by Petals for Hope founder Brittaney Sard.

The mission of her organization is to use flowers as a vessel to connect with people to spread joy, and also to remind them that they do still matter, and that there is still hope.

Each of the varicolored bouquets contained 25 individual stems. For the tulips, it was the culmination of a long journey. The bulbs were shipped in from the Netherlands, then planted in California before making their way to D.C. in special flower containers.

“There is typically a Tulip Festival held each year, but due to COVID it had to be virtual. The Tulip Growers of America, as well as the Tulip Festival, decided to donate the tulips as opposed to not utilizing them” said Sard. “We wanted to deliver the flowers to front-line workers, including hospital staff, teachers and nursing homes.”

Petals for Hope, which has been in operation for three years, is headquartered in the D.C. metro area, but operates nationwide. People can visit petalsforhope.com to learn more.

Children’s National, a 323-bed pediatric acute-care hospital in Washington D.C., is affiliated with the George Washington University School of Medicine and the Howard University College of Medicine.

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