Remembering Her with Acres of Flowers
Funding cancer research and patient advocacy through sunflowers
You may remember the nearly five miles of sunflowers that bloomed along either side of highway 85 in the summer of 2015. They were a beautiful memorial to Babbette Jaquish, who had been sick with multiple myeloma (a kind of cancer that affects plasma cells) and had passed away in November 2014. Sunflowers were her favorite.
Babbette’s family continues to honor her memory with Babbette’s Seeds of Hope, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding cancer research and patient advocacy through sunflowers.
This is the second year the family has planted several acres of sunflowers on their farm. The flowers will bloom in mid-August and will stay in flower for two to three weeks. “We’re at the mercy of the weather and flowers,” says Jennifer White, Babbette’s daughter and one of the founders of the nonprofit, “but hopefully they’ll last through Labor Day.”
Saturdays and Sundays during that time the entire community is invited to the farm to enjoy activities such a sunflower maze, hay rides, horse-drawn wagon rides ,and a pick-your-own sunflower patch.
Entry to the festivities is by free-will donation. Sunflower seeds will be available for a donation as well. All funds will go directly to the nonprofit and will be distributed to cancer causes where they can do the most good.
Follow Babbette’s Seeds of Hope on Facebook to stay informed on activities, weather cancellations, and happenings at the farm.
You can find Babbette’s Seeds of Hope at W5725 State Road 85, Eau Claire, or online at babbettesseedsofhope.com.
