RIVERTON, Utah — At Oquirrh Hills Middle School, one student made sure his female classmates and faculty members had a valentine to celebrate the upcoming Valentine’s Day.
Inside one of the classrooms, one rose after another was placed in a cellophane bag decorated with hearts. Next to the rose were notes cut out on red and pink construction paper, with the edges cut in various waves and shapes. As the students and teachers continued this process, the room filled to the brim with rose gifts.
This operation started as an idea from student Ty Armstrong. He’s a member of the national Junior Honor Society and had help from the other members with his idea. It started last year when he bought a few roses and handed them out to some of his girl classmates.
“Last year I handed out a couple dozen roses to girls that I knew,” he said. “I saw the way that it made them feel and I also saw the girls that didn’t get one and how that made them feel.”
So this year, he went bigger with his gift idea.
“So I thought, this year, why not give one to every single girl and faculty member at the school and make sure they all feel loved,” Armstrong said.
He set up a GoFundMe account to help raise money for the roses and this year, bought 720 roses for every girl at his school.
“A couple weeks ago I started a GoFundMe,” he said. “And we raised enough money and with the help of local stores, we got the roses and it’s been a lot of fun.”
He, his classmates and teachers put together the roses into little bags, paired with a Valentine’s Day note. He and the students went to all the classrooms and handed out every single rose — all 720 of them.
“For Valentine’s Day, of course it’s the season of love,” he said. “So middle school can be a super hard time to feel loved and seen so I think that’s what I’m trying to do today to make sure that every single girl here feels loved and seen.”
And with every rose and note given, he got one step closer to his goal — helping everyone at Oquirrh Hills Middle School feel happy on the day dedicated to love.
