NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release, December 20, 2017
Contact: Lora Burns, [email protected], 207-842-5522
International Floriculture Expo Delivers on #HappyHealthyFlowers Social Media Campaign
The Power of Giving: Flowers brighten patient’s days
Portland, Maine (December 20, 2017) – The International Floriculture Expo’s #happyhealthyflowers social media campaign came to a successful close after months of promoting the health benefits of giving and receiving flowers. Participants were asked to share a floral image on social media and use hashtag #HappyHealthyFlowers. For every post, IFE agreed to donate a flower to a hospital patient. This resulted in thousands of dollars’ worth of bouquets being delivered to patients in need.
IFE partnered with Flower Box at Maine Medical Center to assemble bouquets which included gift tags sending well wishes. Volunteers delivered bouquets to patients in different departments over the course of several weeks, including the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, patients receiving cancer treatments, departments catering specifically to elderly patients, women on the pre-natal floor experiencing pregnancy complications and patients recovering from an array of surgeries.
Overall, patients have been overjoyed. Flower Box volunteers reported that one 96-year-old patient remarked that she could not have been happier and that “receiving the flowers made her feel like a queen.”
IFE Event Director, Christine Salmon, said “As we embrace the season of giving, it’s a wonderful feeling that the awareness campaign inspired the floral community to participate in a small act of kindness that impacted multiple lives. The power of giving flowers is remarkable and we thank everyone in the industry and beyond who participated in this campaign.”
The awareness campaign resulted in nearly 17,000 social media impressions and over 200 submissions promoting the proven benefits of giving and receiving flowers, evidenced by studies from both Rutgers University and Harvard University. IFE aims to support the industry and continue to spread awareness of the benefits of flowers through yearly donation campaigns such as #happyhealthyflowers.
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International Floriculture Expo
The International Floriculture Expo is North America’s largest business-to-business exhibition and conference for the mass market floral industry, uniting high volume retail buyers, wholesalers, florists, suppliers, media, merchandisers, and other industry professionals. IFE provides leading educational and networking opportunities to connect professionals and move the floral industry forward. The event is co-located with United Fresh FreshTEC and FreshMKT, Global Cold Chain Expo, and Smart Food. IFE is produced by Diversified Communications, a leading international media company providing market access, education and information through global, national and regional face-to-face events, digital products and publications. Diversified serves a number of industries including: transportation, food and beverage, natural and organic, technology and business management. www.floriexpo.com
About The Flower Box
Headquartered in Portland, Maine, The Flower Box is a full service florist located in the main entrance of Maine Medical Center and operates as a non-profit with all proceeds benefiting children’s projects in the MMC community. The concept of the Flower Box first originated in 1910 by a group of women interested in helping patients. In 1948, the concept came to fruition as a pop-up booth with only a table, icebox and register. It was not until 2010 that the Flower Box settled into their location at Maine Medical Center where they currently continue to touch patient lives daily.
