Williamsport, Pa. — A local florist is aiming to create as many flower bouquets, and smiles, as possible.
The Petal Parcel, located at 16 Roseville Rd., Williamsport, offers everyday flowers, funeral flower arrangements, flowers for small events, plants, gifts and more.
Since she first began the operation in 2023, Heidi Lane, owner of The Petal Parcel, has become dedicated to working with the community, and giving back.
Through personal experience, Heidi has also learned the importance of mental health.
Her new project, "Support a Stem," is meant to raise awareness about mental health through acts of random kindness.
"Mental health awareness, this is something that is very close to me, in many ways, and personally, I have struggled for a very, very long time until I had my daughter," said Heidi.
For every $15 raised in support of the project, a flower bouquet will be created with a message attached. When the time comes, the bouquets will be given out to strangers at random.
Residents of Ashler Manor in Muncy will be handwriting each of the cards with provided quotes to include with the bouquets.
"I kept thinking, what can I do to help lift everybody's spirits. Ever since Covid, people have just been different. People don't say hi to you, people don't even really talk to you. I think that a lot of people really need a lift, and flowers," said Heidi.
"When I deliver flowers. People are just like so excited. That was another reason why I got into it was because it just makes people feel good," said Heidi.
This is the not first time that The Petal Parcel has taken part in giving back. For the past two years, the business has a project called "Ellie's Bellies," where money is raised to give away gift cards to strangers at the grocery store. The money is given away around Christmas time.
100% of the proceeds go directly to the cause, according to Heidi.
"The first year we raised $4,500. And then the second year we raised about $4,000," said Heidi.
During the day of the giveaway, Heidi has volunteers give out the money at random. She plans to do the same with the Support a Stem giveaway.
"I picked people to give the gift cards out and I watched to make sure they gave them out but I don't want to be the face of it. I'm just the collector. I would rather stay in the background and watch it all unfold," said Heidi.
To Heidi, her favorite part of giving back is watching people come together and uplift one another.
"To me, that is everything. I cannot even tell you how that makes me feel, that people just want to do this for one another. We need more of that," said Heidi. "It doesn't matter if you donate $100 Or if you donate $2. You're still putting it towards something that we're collectively doing," she added.
Flowers offered by The Petal Parcel are often created with seasonal, local flowers.
“I try to use local as much as I possibly can. I have a couple girls that grow flowers that I will buy from and everything I do is pretty much designer's choice—I feel if my creativity is condensed, I'm not able to produce a product I'm proud of,” said Heidi. “I tell everybody that almost everything is designer's choice unless they have a specific flower that they would like me to use,” she added.
Flowers from The Petal Parcel are processed in a way that makes the flowers last as long as possible.
“Some things have a longer vase life than others and I like my flowers to last as long as possible. A lot of people do say that my flowers tend to last almost two weeks, which is pretty good. That's very important to me. I spend a lot of time processing my flowers and processing them properly,” said Heidi.
Out of everything Heidi does, some of her favorite work is providing flowers for funerals.
“It's way more meaningful to me. You're honoring somebody that passed away and it's giving the family something to look at and feel good,” said Heidi.
Another aspect to owning a business that Heidi most enjoys in being able to work alongside other small businesses throughout the community.
The Petal Parcel has partnered with other small businesses throughout the area, including Hillside Catering, Batter-Up Bakey, Steel Studios, and others.
Alongside Hillside Catering, The Petal Parcel has offered grazing boxes, which include flowers and snacks.
The Petal Parcel has also done a "Bloom and Bake" box with Batter-Up Bakery, which offer half of a box of flowers and the other half, a sweet treat.
"Small businesses are really the backbone of our community, and they're really the only ones that are going to help their neighbors. So that is very important to me. And I really enjoy working with them on all these different creative projects," said Heidi.
Heidi has also partnered with different local businesses to host flower arranging classes called "Petal Parties."
Donations for Support a Stem can be made on Venmo, PayPal @thepetalparcel. Cash donations are also being accepted.
For more information, follow The Petal Parcel on Facebook or Instagram.
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