Categories
Newsroom

Volunteers ensure flowers get 2nd chance to brighten someone’s day (WTHR, 2.20.2020)

“Have you ever wondered where Valentine’s Day flowers go when they aren’t sold? This is it. Random Acts of Flowers is where flowers go to get a second chance.

“These are really good flowers that would normally go into the trash,” said volunteer Amber Livers.

Thanks to 400 volunteers like Amber, they have a second chance to make someone’s day.

Random Acts of Flowers has made 75,000 deliveries since late 2016.

“Whenever volunteers come in, this is the first thing they check. Where are they going? How many do we need and where do the flowers come from? The bottom line is what really matters. We would not exist without our awesome floral partners here in the city,” said Lindsay Potter, program director.

Between 300 and 500 bouquets are shipped out a small building on the near north side every week.”

Read the Full Story

Categories
Newsroom RAF in the News

What happens to the Valentine’s Day flowers that don’t get sold? (CNN, 2.15.2020)

Valentine’s Day represents different things to different people: Love, consumerism, chocolate for breakfast. But for the floral industry, it’s essentially a national holiday — and demand is higher than ever.

Flower business booms during Valentine’s season: Of the millions of Americans predicted to spend $24.7 billion on Valentine’s Day gifts this year, about 37% of them will buy flowers.

 

This year, Latam Cargo told CNN it flew more than 12,600 tons of flowers grown in Colombia and Ecuador around the US, Australia and Europe — a 45% higher amount than in 2019.

But of all the millions of buds and blooms that flooded florists and grocery stores this Valentine’s Day, not all of them ended up in someone’s living room. What happens to the bouquets that don’t make the cut?

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

 

Categories
Blog Newsroom

Bridge the Gap: Episode 94

Categories
Blog Newsletter Newsroom

Indianapolis In Bloom Newsletter – August 2019

 

View this email in your browser
 

IN BLOOM
August 2019
It’s been a busy summer here at our Indianapolis workshop, and – thanks to the support of our volunteers, donors, and friends like you – we’ve made thousands of deliveries to people in our community! We couldn’t do it without you, and we’re so glad that you’re part of the RAF Indianapolis family!

SUPPORT DELIVERING HOPE WITH A DONATION

A NOTE FROM INCOMING BOARD CHAIR, SARAH CLARK

Everyone agrees. RAF Indianapolis is a special place. Each day I enter the workshop on 54th Street, I think RAF could stand for Random Acts of Friendship. Maybe it’s the sweet smell of fresh flowers and the happy chatter combined with the collective sense of purpose. It just feels good. The moment one engages in this mission, the magic begins. Whether it’s knocking on the door of a neighbor to collect a vase or two, or regularly volunteering in the workshop, moments of kindness happen long before the vase of flowers is delivered.

And… Indianapolis gets it! The enthusiasm and dedication of our volunteers, floral suppliers, and healthcare partners is second to none. As we enter our third year, I believe it is a pivotal time for us to fully recommit to both sustaining and growing our mission in the Indianapolis community while having good fun doing it. What an exciting time to be a part of RAF Indy!

AN INDY INVASION!
At the end of July, the Random Acts of Flowers team descended on Indy for a three-day retreat at our workshop! We shared lots of good ideas, plans for the future, successes, challenges, and more than a few laughs! We were glad to be able to host,
and we’re already looking forward to Retreat 2020!
THANK YOU TO TWO AMAZING FLORAL PARTNERS
Flowers are our foot in the door at hospitals, assisted living facilities, and other healthcare centers in our community. They are the way we share kindness and compassion, and remind our neighbors that someone cares about them.

Without amazing floral donors like
JP Parker and McNamara Florist, we wouldn’t be able to provide beautiful blooms to people who need a pick-me-up. We are so grateful for their generosity and continued support of our mission!

GET YOUR VASES
TO OUR PLACE!
We are so grateful to everyone who has donated vases to our branch! Vases are the vessel of our mission,
and we are always in need of more!

You can drop off vases at our workshop in Broad Ripple, Monday-Thursday 10:00am to 4:00pm, or at several locations throughout Indianapolis.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DONATING VASES AND VASE DRIVES!
Deliveries of Hope
69,500+ in Indianapolis
447,000+ Nationwide
Vases Re-purposed
69,000+ in Indianapolis
454,000+ Nationwide
Volunteer Hours
22,500+ in Indianapolis
203,500+ Nationwide
SUPPORT DELIVERING HOPE WITH A DONATION
UPDATE YOUR NEWSLETTER PROFILE
Categories
Blog

The Brightest Week Shines at RAF – June 17-21

 

 


View this email in your browser

This past week, we honored THE BRIGHTEST WEEK,
focusing our mission on those battling Alzheimer’s Disease, dementia, and other memory issues

Thanks to the amazing support of the Care Institute Group,
we made more than 2,600 deliveries to memory care facilities
in Knoxville, Tampa Bay, Chicago, and Indianapolis.

“I’m just back from delivering to two memory care facilities, and I can’t describe the joy I saw today talking to each patient I gave flowers to. Awesome to say the least!”
– Marilyn, RAF Tampa Bay Volunteer
Support Delivering Hope with a Donation!

Want to know more about how flowers help your memory?

Smell goes into the emotional parts of the brain and the memory parts, whereas words go into thinking parts of the brain.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

The olfactory experience triggered a lot of memories for her. This woman who hadn’t spoken in a long time started speaking .

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

 

Categories
Blog RAF in the News

A Testimony to Flower Power (Floral Business, Spring 2019)

Categories
Blog Newsletter Newsletters

Indianapolis In Bloom Newsletter – May 2019

 

 


View this email in your browser

IN BLOOM
May 2019

The Random Acts of Flowers workshop has been awash in springtime flowers for the last few months, and we have used them to make more than 4,600 deliveries of hope and encouragement in our community since you last heard from us.

We have some exciting opportunities available if you’d like to participate in our mission this summer and we have some great news to report about how we’ve impacted lives. We hope you’ll read on to find out everything we’ve been up to this spring!

SUPPORT DELIVERING HOPE WITH A DONATION

SUPPORTING RAF JUST GOT A LOT MORE SOCIAL!

Celebrate your birthday or any other occasion by supporting our mission of delivering hope!

Did you know you can now run a Facebook crowdfunding campaign for Random Acts of Flowers Indianapolis? It’s an easy, fun, and social way to give back.

Set the amount, spread the word, and share the love!

Vase Drive Alert!

The team at ULGStaffing is hosting a vase drive to benefit Random Acts of Flowers Indianapolis from now until June 30th.

If you have extra vases, you can drop them off at their adorable drop-off location at 5702 E. 71st St.

Thank you to ULG
for supporting our mission!

INTERESTED IN RUNNING A VASE DRIVE? CLICK HERE!

At the end of April, renowned floral designer Jody McLeod joined us at RAF Indianapolis for a workshop and our annual Spring Fundraising Luncheon.

Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate and support delivering hope!

THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS

EVENT SPONSORS
Syndicate Sales
SalesForce
Messer Construction
The National Bank of Indianapolis
Marvin’s Wholesale Florist
Care Institute Group
BMO Harris Bank
Susan and Bill Tolbert

AUCTION SPONSORS
Pots and Pans Pie Co.
J. McLaughlin
DeBrand Fine Chocolates
Addendum
Be the Boutique
Charles Mayer & Company
Five Thirty Home
Petite G Jewelers
Parkside Linen
Editions Ltd. & Frame Design

NEWS FROM THE WORKSHOP
  • RANDOM ACTS OF PUPPIES – Some of our volunteers are fuzzier than others! Service dog in training and expert floral designer, Mr. BB, spent some time with us in the workshop this spring!
  • ARE YOU GREEN WITH INDY? – Ever wonder what happens to the flowers we don’t use? Those moldy, slimy, sad flowers that we just couldn’t save are composted by local composting service, Green With Indy. And guess what? They offer a residential composting service too!
  • THE NEXT GENERATION OF GIVERS – Young philanthropists from the Stonybrook Middle School Student Council in MSD Warren Township hosted a vase drive and collected hundreds of vases for our delivering hope.
  • MAKE OUR WISHES COME TRUE – OUCH! Our volunteers (and their poor fingers) are desperately in need of thorn stripping tools to rid our beautiful roses of those pesky and painful thorns. Can you help us by purchasing some (and/or any of the other items) from our Amazon Wish List?
  • RACING TO GIVE – It’s May in Indy which can only mean one thing….Indy 500 Victory Banquet Flowers! We want to give a big thank you to Indy Car, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Detail+Design for these gorgeous yellow arrangements from the event!

Deliveries of Hope
62,000+ in Indianapolis
419,000+ Nationwide

Vases Re-purposed
62,250+ in Indianapolis
429,250+ Nationwide

Volunteer Hours
20,250+ in Indianapolis
196,250+ Nationwide

SUPPORT DELIVERING HOPE WITH A DONATION

UPDATE YOUR NEWSLETTER PROFILE

Share

Tweet

Forward

 

Categories
Blog Knoxville Patron Society News Releases Newsletter Newsroom RAF in the News

Getting to Know Larsen Jay (Knoxville Focus, 3.31.19)

[fusion_text]

Getting to Know Larsen Jay

by Mike Steely

In this week’s Getting to Know feature, The Knoxville Focus chatted with someone who positively impacts other people, people he may never meet, and what he does comes as a welcomed surprise and sometimes brings tears of gratitude.

Larsen Jay is a husband, father, Knox County Commissioner and founder of Random Act of Flowers. Most people don’t know that Jay also has a background in TV and movie production.


How has your position as founder and CEO of Random Acts of Flowers worked for you?

It has been thrilling, half terrifying and always exciting as we continue to help the community. My wife and I were involved in many things before this, like bringing the ice rink back downtown, starting the East Tennessee Chili Cook Off and the Daddy-Daughter Dance, restoring a historic building and serving on nonprofit boards. We started Random Acts of Flowers as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and thought we’d hand it off after it got started. It accepts no public funds, everything is donated and nothing is wasted. We exist through grants, corporate support, and private, direct fund raising.

We now have four branches around the country, 18 employees and over 2,000 volunteers and are approaching our 500,000th floral delivery. It’s going very well.[/fusion_text][button link=”http://knoxfocus.com/archives/this-weeks-focus/getting-know-larsen-jay/” color=”default” size=”xlarge” stretch=”” type=”” shape=”” target=”_blank” title=”” gradient_colors=”|” gradient_hover_colors=”|” accent_color=”” accent_hover_color=”” bevel_color=”” border_width=”” icon=”” icon_position=”left” icon_divider=”no” modal=”” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”1″ animation_offset=”” alignment=”center” class=”” id=””]Read the Full Story Here[/button]

Categories
Blog Chicago Patron Society Knoxville Patron Society RAF in the News

RAF on Flower Power with Jill (March 2019)

[fusion_text]

Random Acts of Flowers Has Recycled
Over 400,000 Bouquets for Patients & Nursing Homes

In 2007, Random Acts of Flowers founder Larsen Jay was in a near-fatal accident landing him in a Tennessee hospital bed.  Aside from expert medical care, he also credits the bouquets of flowers generously sent by friends and family in helping him heal and persevere through the multiple surgeries and challenging recovery process.

Leaving the hospital, he noticed how some patients didn’t have cheery flowers to give them an emotional lift as he had. The first Random Acts of Flowers donation was made that day when he re-purposed his bouquets and delivered them from his wheelchair.[/fusion_text][button link=”http://www.flowerpowerwithjill.com/random-acts-of-flowers-has-recycled-over-400000-cheery-bouquets/” color=”default” size=”xlarge” stretch=”” type=”” shape=”” target=”_self” title=”” gradient_colors=”|” gradient_hover_colors=”|” accent_color=”” accent_hover_color=”” bevel_color=”” border_width=”” icon=”” icon_position=”left” icon_divider=”no” modal=”” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”1″ animation_offset=”” alignment=”center” class=”” id=””]Read Full Coverage Here[/button]

Categories
Blog Newsletters Uncategorized

Indianapolis In Bloom Newsletter – Winter 2019


IN BLOOM
Winter 2019

“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.” ~ Albert Camus

It feels like the blink of an eye since the holidays and the start of 2019, but so much has happened at Random Acts of Flowers in the first two months of the year. We’re excited to share with you all the news.


Since January 1, we’ve made more than 5,000 deliveries of hope and encouragement, re-purposed more than 1,600 vases, and our dedicated volunteers have served more than 500 hours.

Those are incredible numbers, but what they reveal is the continued and growing need for RAF in our community. Too many people spend the cold days of winter battling illness and isolation, and – thanks to your support – we are able to bring the brightness and hope of spring to them in the depths of the darkest season.

SUPPORT DELIVERING HOPE WITH A DONATION

Last week, we received a huge post-Valentine’s Day donation of flowers from FTD/ProFlowers. We want to give a big, grateful shout-out to our driver Pete and all the volunteers who unpacked boxes and over-packed their cars to assist with delivering these to dialysis centers throughout Central Indiana.

ALL THE JOY YOU GIVE

Soon after RAF Indianapolis opened its doors in 2016, Joan Perry joined the ranks of the volunteer corps. As a person who loves gardening and flowers, Joan recognized plants’ ability to brighten people’s lives, and she loves the fact that the RAF mission combines something she already enjoys with giving back to the community she loves.

She is rightfully proud of her role in bringing “cheer and happiness to the more than 50,000 people who received our arrangements.” And, she also recognizes that participating in the mission brighten her life, too. “Whenever we deliver to the hospitals or nursing homes, we and the staff always gets as much joy out of it as the people on the receiving end.”

Joan shared a couple of stories that touched her heart the most –

“A little lady who looked like she had limited income was standing in the hospital doorway waiting to go home, when I gave her the flowers she had tears, gave me a hug and then hurried down the hallway telling everyone she just got flowers.”

“Another time I delivered to Riley Children Hospital and a little 4 year old girl could not believe the flowers were for her, she kept saying ‘for me for me!'”

Those moments and the happiness they bring, along with the extended family she’s gained at the RAF Indianapolis workshop, including staff Cheryl and Lindsay and her fellow volunteers, has brought her back to the workshop and on deliveries again and again. We are so glad to have Joan as part of our team and grateful to her for delivering hope to so many who need it.

Deliveries of Hope
57,000+ in Indianapolis
399,000+ Nationwide

Vases Recycled
58,000+ in Indianapolis
408,000+ Nationwide

Volunteer Hours
18,000+ in Indianapolis
185,250+ Nationwide

SUPPORT DELIVERING HOPE WITH A DONATION

UPDATE YOUR NEWSLETTER PROFILE