Planting Daffodils: An Opportunity to Remember and Build Community Camaraderie

On two beautiful New York autumn mornings recently, camaraderie and caring described the scenes at Morningside Park and Campground in Fallsburg and the Sullivan County Government Center in Monticello. Ranging in age from nine months to 80 plus years old, they came together. Some were in strollers, others with knee pads and a few walking with canes. They sat side by side on benches and in the tilled grass.

To borrow a phrase from the Bible (Deuteronomy 26:8), “With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,” these volunteers gathered to participate in the largest public planting of yellow daffodil bulbs in Sullivan County to date. They were joining the worldwide Daffodil Project, whose international mission is to plant 1.5 million yellow daffodils, each one representing a child who perished in the Holocaust.

In total, 9,000 yellow daffodil bulbs were planted over two days. “It was nice to see so many parts of the community come together for such a great cause,” volunteer Jeremy Levner said. Another volunteer, Harriet Dorfman, concurred: “The diverse greater community has embraced the project.”

The mission of these hand-planted gardens were literally set in stone. Jerry Klinger, founder of the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation and presenter at various local Hadassah programs, donated the 9,000 bulbs and engraved plaques, set by volunteer Ray Croney on the boulders, which were donated by E. Tetz and Sons. These markers ensure that, in the months and years ahead, visitors to the gardens and those who pass by will learn of the rationale behind the planting of the beautiful blossoms.

It was affirming for me to hear Klinger laud the leadership efforts of my non-profit organization Hope’s Compass. “The compass of dignity for all humanity guides Hope Blecher’s life. Without Hope’s Compass, the Daffodil Project would never have happened in Sullivan County.”

At one of the daffodil planting events, president and founder of The Daffodil Project Andrea Videlefsky explained, “The Daffodil Project also represents our support for children suffering in humanitarian crises around the world today.”

Videlefsky continued, “Now more than ever, we need collaborative passion that drives our mission to bring peace, tolerance, compassion and understanding to the world. When these daffodils bloom in the spring, they will bring beauty, unity and hope as we remember the children and remind ourselves to continue to work towards a better future.”

Reflecting on the planting, Harris Seletsky, director of Fallsburg’s Parks & Camping, shared: “We are very fortunate and grateful that The Daffodil crossed our path and we were able to contribute. It was beautiful to watch so many different people from all walks of life come together as a community to support each other, work with each other and achieve a common goal for such a meaningful cause.”

New York State Assembly Member Paula Elaine Kay noted, “Since 2022, volunteers have planted thousands of daffodils here in Sullivan County. All that hard work helped the worldwide Daffodil Project recently reach its one-million-flower milestone. Each bloom represents a profound loss, but the beauty of this project is that it teaches us to transmute grief into hope by reaching out to one another.”

Among the poignant presentations was one by Mimi Werner. While Mr. Seletsky held up a framed photo of Mimi’s brother Emanuel, she spoke about this brother she never met, one who was murdered by the Nazis when he was a child. A grandson whose hand was last held by his grandmother, a son outlived by his father, a brother who never met his sister. Surrounded by friends and people she met just last month, Mrs. Werner planted a yellow daffodil bulb in his memory.

Woven throughout the conversations and tilled soil were timeless symbols. Mother Nature made her presence felt in the two bald eagles circling above in the bright blue sky. For me, these eagles symbolized freedom, of coming back from extinction and called to mind the two doves from the story of Noah (Genesis 8:6-16).

When I became a volunteer ambassador for this project and transitioned from a brick-and-mortar-based educator to the founder of the nonprofit Hope’s Compass, I could never have imagined so many people coming together at various locations over the course of the past three years to plant over 11,000 yellow daffodil bulbs.

I glanced down at the white flower pattern on my Doc Martens, a pair of shoes I purchased at a thrift store in Mystic, Connecticut, the summer after participating in my first Daffodil Project. And I thought about how each garden, each bulb, each trowel is a tiny, mighty, beautiful step in remembrance and celebration of life.

To learn more, I invite you to get a taste of my exhibits Voices of Survivors and Honoring Survivors, available at www.HopesCompass.org. Each included I Never Saw Another Butterfly, a book of poetry and paintings by youth imprisoned in the Terezín Concentration Camp in Czechoslovakia.

Just as Hadassah’s membership crosses generations of women, so too will the generations of daffodil planters. In the spring of 2026, when these newly planted bulbs have blossomed and there is a beautiful yellow glow across Sullivan County, the planters will come back to see “their” flowers. Some are looking forward to returning to draw and photograph the flowers. And already a group of young girls have asked their chaperone to come for a picnic at their row of planted daffodil bulbs.

As a long-time resident of Sullivan County, I am so thankful that our community is home to these meaningful and powerful gardens, and I am grateful to each and every volunteer who has knelt in the dirt for this worthy cause. I am also proud to have been able to secure more than $15,000 in grant money from NY State Assembly Member Kay for Hope’s Compass to orchestrate more local daffodil gardens in the future.

While atrocity led to the founding of the Daffodil Project, these gatherings show the best in us, in people; the best of our kindness towards each other. It is this premise, of people uplifting each other, that is also evident in Hadassah’s mission.

I view my volunteer contributions as an artist, author and ambassador for the Daffodil Project and a member of Hadassah’s Educators Council as pathways to address the rising antisemitism in our nation. Following in the footsteps of Hadassah Founder Henrietta Szold, I and my fellow Hadassah members continue to innovate and uphold the healing mission of Hadassah.