WBBM Newsradio/Lisa Fielding
It’s a Wednesday at Alden Estates Transitional Care in Skokie where Random Act of Flowers is surprising unsuspecting patients. A van pulls up to the main entrance with a cart of flower bouquets destined for new homes.
“Flowers are the universal language of hope and healing,” said Andrea Lutz, Executive Director, Random Acts of Flowers. “We’ve got roses, mixed bouquets, we’ve got Kale, daisies you name it, it’s in here right now. ”
The non-profit organization has been serving the Chicagoland area for two years, but it was launched in 2008 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
WBBM Newsradio/Lisa Fielding
“In July 2007, our founder Larsen Jay fell off a ladder, slamming into the concrete below. He was in the hospital for 22 days and got dozens and dozens of bouquets from his friends and family. That was such a part of his healing process,” Lutz said.
Jay and his wife noticed that so many people didn’t have flowers in their rooms, so they started taking cards off his flowers and delivering them to his fellow patients.
“That was how this beautiful organization started, just that simple way to tell someone what you’re going through is hard, but I care about you,” she said.