THE DAFFODIL PROJECT

The Daffodil Project SEOJEAN AHN, staff writer

The Daffodil Project was recently brought to Johns Creek High School, making it the second high school in Fulton County to participate in the project. The Daffodil Project originated in Atlanta in 2010 by Dr. Andrea Videlefsky, a physician and philanthropist, and has been carried out by Am Yisrael Chai, a nonprofit organization aimed to educate and spread awareness about the Holocaust. The project essentially “aspires to build a worldwide Living Holocaust Memorial” by planting 1.5 million Daffodils around the world in remembrance of the 1.5 million children who passed away during the Holocaust. The initiative also aims to spread awareness of current humanitarian crises and support child victims around the world. Although the project originated in Atlanta, it has quickly expanded around the world to countries like Poland, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany and more. 2022 was the first year JCHS participated in the project. Assistant Principal Ashley Barker led the project along with North Fulton Daffodil Project Ambassador Lisa Winokur. They worked with Temple Emanuel, who provided supplies and equipment, to carry out the project. The project was advertised through JCNN, the daily live morning news show, and through community emails. The event took place Oct. 18 after school outside of the cafeteria with approximately 40 students and parent volunteers. Their motives for participating in the project were diverse. A lot of the students were Jewish. “We did the project at my church. Not only was it for a good cause, it was very pretty so I wanted to do it at our school,” Lainey Weissman, a junior, said. However, there were a lot of students who weren’t Jewish as well. “I’m not Jewish, but I think it is a very beautiful cause, and I think whether you are Jewish or not, it would be a really good idea to help out,” said Shreya Kumar, a sophomore. Abby Quinn, a recent graduate, had spent a year in Israel and grew to resonate with Judaism during her stay. “I wanted to come back and pay tribute to my high school.” Other students claimed that by participating in the project they were able to support the Jewish community, overcome hate in the world and earn community service hours. The event ended successfully with 250 more bulbs planted towards the goal of 1.5 million. There are currently 758,000 bulbs planted around the world. “The idea is to make it continue at our school,” AP Barker said. He also plans to find another area at the school to plant 100 more bulbs in the near future. “It’s a very beautiful flower that makes the school look nice, not to mention the actual representation of it from a symbolic standpoint.” AP Barker also hopes to spread the project in the district and get neighboring schools to participate as well.