More than 40 volunteers gathered at Greenwich High School on Saturday, Oct. 17, to plant yellow tulip bulbs for the town's fifth annual Yellow Tulip Project.
The event, known as Hope Day, brought students, parents, educators, police officers and GEMS volunteers together for a ceremony outside the high school. Afterward, groups carrying shovels and wearing gardening gloves traveled to Riverside School, New Lebanon School and Central Middle School to plant bulbs at each campus, as first reported by Greenwich Free Press.
Four organizations helped drive the turnout: Kids In Crisis, Greenwich Together, Greenwich High School's Outreach Club and the First Selectman's Youth Commission. State Rep. Stephen Meskers, who represents District 150, also attended.
Corina Restrepo of Kids In Crisis said the day marked a milestone. "Our fifth annual Yellow Tulip Planting celebrates the hope and connection we can create together, one bulb and one conversation at a time," Restrepo said.
The Yellow Tulip Project is a national nonprofit founded in Portland, Maine, in April 2016 by Julia Hansen and her mother, Suzanne Fox. Hansen started the effort after losing two of her closest friends to suicide during her sophomore year of high school, according to the organization's website. The group says nearly 400 student ambassadors now participate and some 20,000 tulip bulbs are planted across the country each October.
Hope matters here.
Kids In Crisis, based in Cos Cob, administers Greenwich Together, the town's prevention council focused on youth mental health. The Greenwich Together Youth Coalition meets virtually on the first Wednesday of each month and is open to students in grades 8 through 12.
The bulbs planted Saturday will bloom in spring across four school campuses.
Residents seeking support can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988, or contact Kids In Crisis at 203-661-1911.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
