Valentine’s Day: 17-Year-Old Hayden Godfrey Hands Out 900 Carnations, One For Every Girl At Utah High School

BuzzWorthy

Talk about a Happy Valentine’s Day!

To celebrate the romantic day of the year, Hayden Godfrey, 17, did something very special for the girls at his high school — all 834 of them! On Thursday February 11, Godfrey, and about 20 volunteers, went to each classroom in the Sky View High School and passed out a carnation to every female student.

“So I did a thing today,” Godfrey wrote on Facebook. “Today I passed out 900 carnations, one to every girl at SVHS, and it was totally worth it. I don’t think anything can compare to seeing every girl in your life holding a flower as they walk through the halls.”

900 carnations
Hayden first started his project his freshman year of high school, when he would anonymously send 20-30 flowers to the girls at his school.

“I thought as many people as possible should be happy on Valentine’s Day,” he told KUTV.

Godfrey’s mother, Erin Godfrey, said her son came up with the idea in middle school when he saw that some of the girls didn’t receive anything romantic for Valentine’s Day. She said Hayden wanted to make a difference, and decided to pass out the carnations.

“That broke his heart on Valentine’s Day,” Erin told ABC News.“He wanted every girl to feel joy.”

Hayden Godfrey carnations
Hayden’s act of kindness wasn’t easy to pull off. The 900 carnations cost $450, and to pay for them, he worked three jobs. Last year, he started working as a cook at a nearby McDonald’s. He then landed a job as a dishwasher at a local Mexican restaurant, and for the last 10 months, he has been working at a grocery store bagging groceries.

Once he finally had enough money, Hayden purchased the flowers from an online wholesaler, and had them delivered to his home. He then enlisted the help of 20 friends to cut the 24 inch stems from the carnations. Hayden allowed the carnations one day to bloom before taking them to his high school, where he would then pass them out to each female student.

“I think it’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” he said. “I got a lot of thank yous that day. It was really cool.”

900 carnations
Prior to passing out the carnations, Hayden requested the help of the school administration. Assistant Principal Curt Hanks provided Godfrey with the number of female students, and made the arrangements for him to interrupt fifth period to pass the carnations out.

“I think that he’s an amazing kid,” Hanks said. “I’m speechless at his actions.”

Godfrey’s girlfriend of six months, 18-year-old Lilyan Sharp, said she wasn’t the least bit jealous of her boyfriend’s incredible gesture. She said what he did was “very special,” and allowed every girl to walk out of school with a “giant smile on their face.”

“I, myself, spent a lot of Valentine’s Days not receiving anything,” she said. “I know how it feels.”

As for Sharp’s Valentine’s Day gift, Hayden gave her tickets to see A Great Big World in Salt Lake City on March 28.

[Photo via Shutterstock]