Linda D’Arco says she’s not the kind of person who can stand as bad things happen. D’Arco owns Little Farmhouse Flowers in Jay.

So, when she and her team watched as Russia invaded Ukraine, they looked around the farm, wondering how they could use what they have to send help abroad.

“We had initially some of our tulips that bloomed too late for Valentine’s Day,” says D’Arco, “so we were kind of looking at all this inventory and trying to come up with a way to translate our flowers into meaningful aid.”

D’Arco and her team have donated flowers in the past, to hospitals and to frontline workers, so she decided to sell those flowers — $20 for a bouquet of tulips –and donate all the money to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

The tulips would then also be donated to long-term care facilities around the North Country.

“We thought this was a great way for other people to feel like they are doing a really great thing in two ways at the same time,” says D’Arco.

“So the money from the sale is going to an organization that can hopefully help with some of the really troubling things that we are seeing out of in Ukraine and then the flowers are going to make a big impact right here on our local community.”

D’Arco’s original goal was to sell 300 tulip bouquets, which would raise $6,000 to donate to Razom for Ukraine, a volunteer-run group out New York City that helps purchase and distribute medical supplies.

In the middle of her fundraiser, D’Arco heard from a flower farmer in Ukraine, whose farm had been bombed by Russian troops.

“That really hit home with us, to see a very similar setup like ours in big trouble over there,” says D’Arco.

In less than a day, D’Arco and her team had hit her $6,000 goal, so her team kept going, setting their sights on $10,000. She’s been recording videos on Instagram from her greenhouse to thank people who have donated

Late Tuesday night, D’Arco and her team met that second goal, ultimately raising $10,000 for efforts in Ukraine.

She says it’s been really powerful to see people from here in the Adirondacks, from around the country and around the world stepping up to help. In this dark moment for Ukrainians and for many the world, D’Arco hopes her flowers and donations can provide a little light.