Tamworth’s Cancer Council office is beaming at the moment after receiving this year’s shipment of flowers, just in time for Daffodil Day.
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The bright yellow winter bulb becomes the beacon of hope for families and patients every August and the Tamworth office had no less than 53 boxes filled with fresh-cut flowers shipped from Queensland.
This year marks 30 years of Daffodil Day, the Cancer Council’s annual fundraiser which attracts millions of much-needed dollars for cancer research.
Tamworth woman Margaret Rock has been volunteering on Daffodil Day for 15 years, doing her part to help “find a cure to this horrible disease”.
“I’m a survivor and I’ve lost some siblings to cancer,” Mrs Rock said.
But Mrs Rock’s volunteering services do not start and end on Daffodil Day, she dedicates the biggest part of her week to helping where she can, including the cancer centre at Tamworth hospital, one day a week at the Cancer Council, as well as work for Pink Ribbon and Relay for Life.
“Money’s not everything and it’s wonderful to give back to people who are going through their cancer journey,” she said.
“I get just as much, if not more out of it then the people I help.
“It does me good and it’s good for my soul.”
Mrs Rock has been selling merchandise at the same site outside Kmart, where she said the biggest seller is the ‘Dougal Bears’.
Making sure no daffodils go to waste, Mrs Rock usually delivers the unsold flowers to local nursing homes.
“You can never judge how many you will sell, I think it’s a nicer idea to give them to the nursing homes to make their day happier,” she said.
There will be more than 650 sites in full swing across NSW with more than 5000 volunteers selling flowers, teddies, pins and other merchandise.
The Cancer Council will hope to raise $2.6 million in NSW and $6.7 million nationally.
To date, the annual fundraiser has provided more than $133 million for cancer research.