Wanted to share a sweet experience I had this morning. When I walked into TVA’s corporate environment, I was greeted by a cartful of vases filled with cheery yellow and green mums. The woman wielding it is an acquaintance from dance class, so as we made our way into the elevator I said; “Oh, it’s like random act of flowers.” She laughed and replied that she had been inspired to recycle and share the bouquets by RAF (I don’t know if she participated in the Day of Caring) a few years ago. So the IT floor – and many cubicles – are a little brighter today thanks to you all! - Kristina

Her story shows how you can do a “random act” on your own.  Often we receive calls from other states, people who found us online and don’t realize that we are a small organization.  I usually encourage them to do a “random act” on their own.  If you are having an event with simple centerpieces any local assisted living facility would LOVE to have those arrangements to put in their communal dining area.  Or you could branch out of our recipient circle, maybe a battered women’s shelter or an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting space.  There is no reason for one time use flowers to go in the trash… share them!  Spread the joy in your community.  :-)

How exciting to learn that we have a second such donation following closely on the heels of our very first!  We recently received a large donation from a company in California.  Upon following up to discover how they heard of us and why they felt compelled to donate we learned that they were donating in memory of an employee’s deceased spouse.  But the story was not to end there.  I recently received the following Share Your Story from Stew.

Thank-you so much for the work you do. My wife, DiAnne received one of your arrangements when she was in the hospital 2 years ago recovering from brain surgery. I have recently lost my beloved DiAnne, but my company, the Linux Foundation was gracious enough to make a donation in her name. Keep up the good work! - Stew

We are very sorry to hear about DiAnne’s passing but so happy to hear that we helped her in her time of need.  And to think it was 2 years ago; we must have really made an impression!  I think that this story shows how profound of an affect our deliveries can have on families who are going through a difficult time.  Something as small as a bouquet of flowers delivered by a stranger “just because” can be the light that is so badly needed during the dark periods of our lives.  A moment when you are reminded that there is beauty to be had and compassion to be shared.

This also reiterates the importance of Sharing Your Story.  Our volunteers see over and over again the joy, the smiles, that are in response to our deliveries.  They try to share their stories but all they know is that someone in the hospital/nursing home/assisted living was smiling when they left the room.  They don’t know the story behind the smile, and those stories are a reminder of how important is our mission to deliver smiles, one bouquet at a time.

If you are a recipient, family member of a recipient, nurse or staff at a facility, please take a moment to Share Your Story.  It means so very much to us here at Random Acts of Flowers to hear about how our mission is affecting our community.  And it is your stories that compel our community to donate in order to help us continue fulfilling our Mission.

We often speak about how our mission affects healthcare residents in our community.  What we don’t often share is how the staff of our recipient facilities are affected by our deliveries.  The mood of the residents at a facility strongly affects the mood of the staff.  Just imagine… if all the residents are in a bad mood, they are going to be contrary and difficult with the staff.  If the residents are happy and excited they are going to transfer these positive feeling onto the staff members with whom they interact.

Enter Random Acts of Flowers.  Who wouldn’t be in a good mood after receiving a big, beautiful bouquet of flowers from a stranger, someone who just wants to make sure that they have a reason to smile that day?!  When our volunteers deliver to a healthcare community they brighten the day for not only recipients but for the nursing staff, the cleaning staff, the meal staff, the activities staff, and anyone who comes into contact with the lovely bouquet and the recipient of said bouquet.  The mood of the entire community is uplifted after a visit from Random Acts of Flowers.

As evidence of this ripple the testimonials that we receive are quite often from the staff members of a facility.  They often read very much like this one from Sunny.

Thank you!  Our residents love Random Acts of Flowers! I work in an assisted living community and it was amazing to see the difference a simple act of kindness could make in someones day. Our residents really appreciated the fact that someone took time out of their day to come say a friendly hello and deliver flowers to them. Thank you so much for blessing our community in this way.

We are, as always, very happy to hear from communities to which we deliver.  We also received three handwritten thank yous from this delivery!

Keeping in mind the ripple effect I invite you to start your own ripple within your community.  Smile at someone on the street… they are likely to smile at the next person they see.  Compliment someone who looks nice… they are likely to spread the joy of your compliment to others.  Drop an extra quarter into an expired parking meter… you will make someone’s day!

We received a very nice note from Lauren Hall, the Healthy Lifestyles Director.  
Thank you so very much for all the beautiful flower arrangements.  The residents absolutely loved them!  Your organization has been the topic of a great deal of conversation.  God bless you all for what you do!  Their smiles are proof of the blessings you provide.

We also received an email through our website from a family member of one of the recipients.
I had the pleasure of seeing the impact of the beautiful flowers delivered by Random Acts of Flowers to Elm Croft West where my mom lives.  My mom was so excited to have her own arrangement and the lobby of Elm Croft was filled with more beautiful arrangements.  This is a wonderful way to brighten the days of many people!  Thank you Random Acts of Flowers!  - Kathy

As always we love hearing from those in our community who have been touched by our mission.  Do you have a story to share?  Visit our Share Your Story page and let us know how our mission affected your life.

Hundreds and hundreds took information on RAF with them while they continue to plan the details – and hopefully once everything is set for their special day, they’ll decide to sign up and donate all their wedding flowers to us so we can turn them into beautiful bouquets for patients in area healthcare facilities.

Not only did we make great connections with brides and their families, but we also formed some new partnerships with area bridal vendors who supply locations, flowers, catering and more!

And to top off this wonderful experience, all the exhibitors participating in the show donated their showcase flowers to RAF – filling our delivery van to the top and providing lots of materials for our Monday arranging volunteers. Thank you all!

We’re very excited for our next bridal show coming up on Sunday February 12th – the News Sentinel Bridal & Beyond show. Come by and see us!

Between Christmas Day and the week thereafter, over 400 deliveries were made to area patients. On Christmas Day, RAF volunteers visited the University of Tennessee Medical Center, Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center, Tennova’s Physicians Regional Medical Center and Parkwest Hospital.

The holiday deliveries were generously supported by AAA of East Tennessee, WBIR TV-10, The Trust Co., Prompt Physical Theraphy, SmartBank and Elavon – thank you!

Special thanks also goes out to all our floral donation partners including Ellenburg’s Nursery, Stanley’s Greenhouse, Food City, Mayo Garden Centers and Tennessee Floral. We couldn’t do it without you!

With generous support of The Care Institute Group, the RAF team planted 4,500 pink tulips and hyacinths in the Crescent Bend gardens. The main installation is a giant pink ribbon on the east hillside made up of thousands of pink tulips and surrounded by brilliant white tulips. In the springtime, this will be an amazing visual for all visitors.

On April 1st, the Crescent Bend House will host its “Pretty in Pink” day, honoring breast cancer survivors and raising awareness for breast cancer awareness. All proceeds from the day benefit the Susan G. Komen For the Cure foundation. Random Acts of Flowers is thrilled to support and participate in this special day.

A HUGE thanks to all the great RAF volunteers who braved the cold and work some seriously hard labor to make this day happen!

MEDIA: Read the press release here. (RELEASE-RAF-BreastCancerBlooms-120611)

We had such a wonderful response to our 2011 workshop series that we have decided to continue this exciting event into the new year!  Follow this link for details.  This year’s theme is Decorating Your Entryway for the Seasons.  For each class attendees will take home an item to hang on their door or place on their stoop to help announce the newly arrived season!  Past participants have been known to comment on the item they take home as being worth more than the price they paid for the class AND they got to learn how to make it themselves.  Don’t miss out on this fabulous series!  The series, or a single class, is also a wonderful gift to share with a loved one for the holidays.

Check out our article about the series in the December print issue of Everything Knoxville and pick up a January issue for stories from past participants.

This series often sells out so call our office today, 865-633-9082, to reserve your tickets.

Picture this, a woman living in a nursing home receives a bouquet of flowers from Random Acts of Flowers.  She is so excited that she calls all her family and friends to tell them about the beautiful bouquet she was given.  Upon the event of her passing the family remembers how much our mission touched her life.  When a family friend asks what she can do in lieu of flowers the family requests that she make a donation to Random Acts of Flowers in their loved one’s honor.  So Mrs. Badgett called us to inquire about making a donation in memory of her family friend who had previously received a bouquet from our organization.

In the early days of Random Acts of Flowers we discussed the possibility of Memorial Donations, ones given in memory of a former recipient.  A donation given as a product of our mission.  We have received Memorial Donations prior to this but always from donors who were already supporters of our mission.  We are just shy of our three year anniversary and today marks the first Memorial Donation from someone unfamiliar with our mission as a direct result of the joy felt by a recipient!!  Oh happy day

We have received such wonderful support from the community over the last three years!  Whether from financial donors, floral donors, or volunteers.  Our mission would not be possible without the support of our community.  This story reflects just one facet of our many donors and a milestone for our organization!