JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
A local flower shop continued a tradition of spreading and sharing love and friendship, one rose at a time.
Florists and volunteers packed Greenbrook Flowers and handed out one dozen free roses to anyone who stopped by.
Buckets of roses were unwrapped and then packaged by the dozen into colorful tissue paper for the 19th annual "Good Neighbor Day" started at Greenbrook Flowers.
"It's really something special because nowadays people just don't do things for anybody," Phillip Theodore told WLBT News.
A stranger handed Connie Jones a rose before she picked up her dozen and then Jones spread the kindness onto the WLBT crew.
Each person who picked up one dozen roses is expected to keep one and pass the others on.
Greenbrook Flower's manager Gwen Colella's father started the tradition. He just wanted to bring a sense of community back to Jackson.
"Just a token of friendship and love as my dad would have put it back in the day," said Colella.
Last year for Good Neighbor Day more than 20 million roses were handed out worldwide. This year it's expected to top that number with 30 million roses, that's more roses than the amount sold on Valentine's Day.
Each time a dozen roses went out those who were lucky enough to receive them were also encouraged to spread more compassion by donating to the Batson Children's Hospital.
"All of Mississippi appreciates it because this is not just Jackson's hospital this is a hospital for the whole state of Mississippi," said Matthew Johnson, the Children's Miracle Network Coordinator at the Batson Children's Hospital.
"I'm just so happy I got these to give," said Jones.
Thirty-thousand roses were handed out in Jackson through Good Neighbor Day.
The roses typically run out by noon.
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