Yellow daffodils, a symbol of spring and hope are sprouting up around the Central Okanagan for the month.
With more than 20 years of volunteerism with the Canadian Cancer Society, Steve Francis was heavily involved with the Daffodil Campaign when it was in its prototype stage in the Central Okanagan.
“That’s my baby, so I’ve been making sure the boxes get out to Kelowna and West Kelowna,” he said.
He currently oversees the campaign in the area.
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“I wear it to say I’m here. I’m here for you. I’m here for the memories of people who have lost their battle, for people who are going through it right now and I’m here for the future, beating this crazy, ugly disease called cancer. I wear it to say I’m with you.”
Francis started volunteering at the Cancer Society because his wife works at the society’s centre in Kelowna, and has for 23 years.
“The next thing you know you just got involved,” he said.
Francis’s mother is a breast cancer survivor and his dad died after he was diagnosed with colon cancer. He said he knows colleagues who also have had it.
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“It’s an awareness campaign but it also represents so many facets of the Canadian Cancer Society,” he said.
Last week, the Kelowna and West Kelowna mayors were pinned, he said, along with the national-wide campaign, in order to get the campaign rolling.
Daffodils can be purchased at local Starbucks and BC Liquor Stores, as well as online at MyDaffodil.ca. Recommendations are for $2 but any donations will be accepted, Francis said.
Starting April 1 the society is selling fresh daffodils in Kelowna, with all proceeds going directly to funding cancer research and local support services. The society will also provide online donors with a two-sided digital daffodil that they can personalize and share on their social media.
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For more information about the Canadian Cancer Society call 1-888-939-3333 or the local branch to learn more about the Daffodil Campaign at 250-762-6381.
The society raised $95,ooo for last year’s campaign in Kelowna.
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