Tag: Origin Story

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RAF on Flower Power with Jill (March 2019)

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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]

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Knoxville Patron Society Newsroom

Founder and CEO Larsen Jay at University of Tennessee’s TEDx

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Our Founder and CEO Larsen Jay recently spoke at TEDx UTK on The Healing Power of Flowers.

He shared his personal experience (which led to the founding of RAF) and testimonials from recipients that truly show the difference that flowers can make in the healing process.

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Newsroom

Once the Flowers Arrive, the Real Magic Begins. (The Flyer Group, 11.10.2017)

Once the Flowers Arrive, the Real Magic Begins

(The Flyer Group, 11.10.2017)

by Sara Nahrwold

In just one year, Random Acts of Flowers Indianapolis has delivered more than 17,000 flower arrangements to the area’s most vulnerable residents in hospitals, nursing homes and hospice facilities. The organization already has its eyes on year number two.

“It’s been great, overwhelming,” Lindsay Potter, program director for Random Acts of Flowers, said.

Since its inception, the business has stayed true to its mission — to improve the emotional health and well-being of individuals in health care facilities by delivering recycled flowers, encouragement and personal moments of kindness. Now, it’s looking to continue fulfilling that mission by adding another partner.

Potter recently met with Linda Ryser, patient liaison and manager of service excellence and volunteer services at Indiana University Health West Hospital in Avon. Ryser said the two talked about the mission, the history of the business and the organizational structure of the company.

“IU Health West enthusiastically agreed to partner with Random Acts of Flowers,” Ryser said. “Besides their mission of providing encouragement and kindness to patients, Random Acts of Flowers is also dedicated to recycling 100 percent of the arrangements they receive in order to keep these floral materials out of landfills. This is hugely important to the employees of IU Health West who have been participating in a recycling program at our hospital for several years.”

The Beginning

The Indianapolis chapter is part of the national organization of Random Acts of Flowers. The company’s founder and CEO, Larsen Jay, was in a near fatal accident in 2007. He was overwhelmed at the hospital with flowers from people showing their support and said that impacted his recovery.

“He saw people come and go that didn’t have visitors,” Potter said. When he got better, he repurposed his flowers and set out to deliver the first “random act of flowers.”

The company then formed in 2008 in Knoxville, Tenn., and has added locations in Chicago, Silicon Valley, Tampa Bay and Indianapolis.

How it Works

Random Acts of Flowers operates within a 30-minute radius from Indianapolis. The company has delivered to locations in Plainfield and Brownsburg.

Donated flowers are brought to the organization’s shop, whether that’s by individuals or companies. Random Acts of Flowers receives flowers from funerals, weddings, wholesalers (flowers that didn’t sell) and grocery stores (because of sell-by dates).

“We aren’t competing with the floral industry, we depend on the floral industry,” Potter said.

For example, someone can’t call Random Acts of Flowers and send $30 to have flowers delivered to grandma at the hospital. That still falls under the floral industry.

Once the flowers arrive, the real magic begins.

“We have a team that takes everything apart and sorts through what we can/can’t use,” Potter said. “We compost what we can’t use.”

Once the flowers are sorted and deemed good enough to reuse, arranging begins. The volunteers usually have a goal to make about 200 flower arrangements a day.

Afterwards, the flowers are delivered with the help of staff at hospitals and nursing homes and Random Acts of Flowers volunteers.

The organization works closely with hospitals and other medical facilities to figure out who to give the flowers to. Some base it on who needs it the most, who hasn’t gotten flowers/visitors or if someone receives life-changing news. Other hospitals have a policy if one person on the floor gets an arrangement, then everyone does.

“We believe in the power of flowers to enhance moods,” Potter said. “It’s really about that connection.”

Moving Forward

Looking ahead, Random Acts of Flowers Indianapolis hopes to deliver around 25,000 arrangements next year.

“We are trying to create new partnerships with hospitals,” Potter said. “We constantly want to find new places and new flowers to rescue.”

Random Acts of Flowers is finalizing the preparatory work with the hospital in hopes that the bouquets will be delivered to patients within the next few months.

Overall, the success has been overwhelming. “Indianapolis has been great for [Random Acts of Flowers],” Potter said. “There’s a wonderful floral community here.”

One of the big areas the organization needs help with is vases, which can also be donated at the office. They go through about 300 a week.

“When you see an organization such as Random Acts of Flowers reaching out and sharing joy in this way, it not only lifts the spirits of the patients, but also their families and friends, the caregivers who treat the patients, and the community as a whole,” Ryser said.

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Chicago Patron Society Knoxville Patron Society Newsroom

3 Nonprofit Founders Who Are Inspiring Entrepreneurs (Entrepreneur.com, 9.29.17)

Photo by Nadine Priestley Photography.

3 Nonprofit Founders Who Are Inspiring Entrepreneurs

(Entrepreneur.com, 9.29.17)

by Brian Hughes

Who’s your business idol? In entrepreneurship circles, it’s natural to look up to figures like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk and Richard Branson, three innovators who continually inspire people to dream bigger.

While there’s no denying these three leaders are certainly role models, others may receive less media attention but are inspiring nonetheless. In fact, you may be surprised to learn that some of the most inspiring aren’t in the corporate world at all: They’re leading successful nonprofits.

They’re just like us.

Nonprofit leaders have a natural entrepreneurial mindset. They have to, because like startup founders, nonprofit leaders aim to solve a problem by providing goods or services.

In the process, they use creative problem-solving and marketing to raise public awareness and financial support for their vision, just the way entrepreneurs strive to secure financing and build public excitement for their product launches. Many nonprofit leaders also supervise a passionate, paid staff while recruiting and training a robust volunteer force. Moreover, these leaders must be creative, open-minded, flexible and nimble —  just like, you guessed it, entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship lesson: Opportunity is everywhere — you just need to think outside the box. In founding Random Acts of Flowers, Jay turned “lemons into lemonade” by finding a creative way to repurpose floral arrangements, bringing joy and vital emotional support to patients when they need it most.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

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Chicago Patron Society Knoxville Patron Society Newsroom

Thank You BBQ Honors Knoxville’s First Responders

Thank You BBQ Honors Knoxville’s First Responders

Photo Courtesy of Knoxville Fire Dept.

Knoxville News Sentinal – First responders with the Knoxville Fire Department, Knoxville Police Department, American Medical Response, and other were honored by Random Acts of Flowers founder Larsen Jay on Saturday, ten years to the day that Jay was seriously injured in a life changing accident.

Over 100 first responders from the Knoxville area were treated with a free barbeque lunch by Jay and a group of volunteers. According to Captain D. J. Corcoran of the Knoxville Fire Department, this year’s celebration was part of an annual tradition of Jay’s.

“Every year for the last six or seven years, he’s come back and done something for the firefighters and emergency workers. This year is the ten-year anniversary, so it’s kind of milestone.”


KnoxTNToday.com – Larsen Jay bought lunch for the area’s first responders Saturday on the 10th anniversary of his near-fatal accident.

“After 12 surgeries and years of therapy, I live a healthy and productive life with a wonderful family,” Jay said. “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than to honor the hard-working people in our safety and health professions.”

 

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Blog

The Impact of a Fall: Reflecting on a Decade’s Ripple Effect

The Impact of a Fall:
Reflecting on a Decade’s Ripple Effect

Larsen Jay soon after his 2007 accident.

Ten years ago today, I fell. I fell from a roof onto the hard concrete below. Ten years ago, the impact of that fall affected my body – breaking numerous bones that, along with my life, had to be painstakingly and patiently put back together. Ten years ago, the impact of that fall was very personal – between me and my body, me and my family, and me and my identity – but the ripple effect of that impact has reached far further than I ever could have imagined.

Because, my time in the University of Tennessee Medical Center – Level 1 Trauma Department ten years ago (read more about that here) and my realization of the role that hope plays in the healing process changed my life. And, by extension, has changed the lives of countless other people in communities across the country.

As I reflect on my accident a decade later, Random Acts of Flowers – the organization founded as a direct response to my experience – is closing in on making 250,000 deliveries of hope and encouragement nationwide. Our five branches continue to impact more lives each month by increasing the number of deliveries, linking up with more healthcare and floral partners, reaching out to volunteers at community organizations, and spreading the word of our mission far beyond their own branch backyards. Further, organizations inspired by Random Acts of Flowers’ simple goal of recycling flowers and delivering hope are serving people in more than two dozen communities outside RAF’s service areas.

This ripple effect cannot be denied.

Random Acts of Flowers deliveries do not only touch the lives of the recipients. We receive testimonials from family members, doctors and nurses, RAF volunteers, and community members about how the RAF mission has touched their lives. Hope is an infinite resource and it can be delivered in myriad forms. For us, the vase and the flowers are the catalyst for making real connections with people and for sharing personal moments of kindness.

I can’t imagine how many people we will have impacted and inspired ten years from now. Half a million? A million? Five million? More? As RAF puts down roots and its branches reach further into each community, the ripple effect will only increase. That’s an impact I am happy to make again and again.

 

This weekend, I will honor Knoxville’s first responders for their service with a BBQ lunch. Some of these first responders made sure that my accident was not the end of my story, but the beginning of a new chapter; and to them, I am forever grateful.

So today of all days, I encourage you, wherever you are, to remember that each day blooms anew, turns over a new leaf, and is an opportunity to make an impact for the better in your own life and to your community. Get out there, make an impact, and live your life filled with hope.

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Knoxville Patron Society Newsroom

“A Jungle of Joy and Happiness”: The Knoxville Mercury Discovers the Roots of RAF

“A Jungle of Joy and Happiness”:
The Knoxville Mercury Discovers the Roots of RAF

Coury Turczyn of The Knoxville Mercury spent a little time with our Founder and CEO Larsen Jay and found out more about the roots of our mission, how we’ve bloomed in Knoxville, and how our branches stretch across the country.

“Random Acts of Flowers may be one of Knoxville’s most well known nonprofits. That’s because its mission makes so much sense that it’s remarkable no one thought to do it before 2008: The national organization takes flowers and bouquets that would otherwise be discarded and redistributes them to patients in hospitals, nursing homes, senior care facilities, and hospices. It provides some emotional well being and encouragement when people need it most.

As it approaches its 250,000th delivery nine years later, we checked in with founder Larsen Jay on how his brainstorm has evolved into a national phenomenon” —

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE…

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Blog Knoxville Patron Society

“Sometimes, people need a friend to talk to more than anything else”: RAF Founder Larsen Jay and the UT Trauma Survivors Network

Photo by Nadine Priestley Photography.

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“Sometimes, people need a friend to talk to more than anything else.” 

Larsen Jay, Random Acts of Flowers founder and trauma survivor, knows the value of a listening ear and shoulder to lean on more than most, and this has motivated him to be one of the founders and an active member of the University of Tennessee’s Trauma Survivors Network (TSN).

Photo by Nadine Priestley Photography.

The TSN was created at the University of Tennessee in January 2016 out of the American Trauma Society under the umbrella of the Trauma Advisory Council. The purpose of the Advisory Council is to bring together patients, family members, doctors, and administrators to encourage the hospital to think more from the patients’ and caregivers’ perspectives, as well as also to form the peer-to-peer TSN  program for patients who have sustained life-altering events, like a car accident or a fall from a height, connecting them with people who have shared a similar experience.

 

Therese Zaltash, coordinator for the TSN, breaks down why the program is so important to patients and caregivers

Therese Zaltash

“The medical aspect of their care is so precise and is down to minutia in regards to specific treatments and methodology, but what we’ve learned over time is that the patient sustains such anxiety and stress from the unknown. What does this injury mean? They might not have ever been in the hospital before. They may be separated from their family due to distance or insurance reasons. And, our support program has people come in for these patients.

We try to provide information to decrease anxiety. We believe information and education is power throughout the journey. We get in as quickly as we can, try to meet them as soon after admission as possible, when they’re in the critical care unit. We tell them about the resources that are available to them, so they can know what they have access to.

Trauma has multiple disciplines looking over your care – orthopedics, neurology, geriatric, pharmacology, etc. – and it can be overwhelming. Oftentimes, these people’s lives are going to be forever changed. We do a great job of putting them back together physically, but the emotional component is a challenge and it’s going to be a long road to follow. The meat and potatoes of our organization are the peer mentors, which is where Larsen comes in.”

What we get to do is go in and say ‘You have survived, you are here, and now what can we do to help you understand what the next steps will look like.’

Larsen Jay soon after his 2007 accident.

As a former trauma patient himself, Larsen knows how difficult the process can be. “The thing I always remember is that their whole world is upside down and they have no idea what the new normal is going to be like. They might be worrying about the logistical things about their life, ‘Did I feed my pet?’ But it’s also, ‘How am I going to put my life back together?’ It’s totally disorienting and exhausting from minute one on. And, so what we get to do is go in and say ‘You have survived, you are here, and now what can we do to help you understand what the next steps will look like.’” One thing that Larsen does to show patients that he understands is to bring in pictures from his own accident which he says “breaks down the barriers to help them see that there’s life after trauma.

Larsen describes the peer-to-peer network as “we’re a third therapist, a third friend, and a third ‘take a breath, it’s going to be okay,’ perspective. It gives the current patient an outlet to someone who isn’t a doctor, nurse, or administrator, but someone who’s been where they’ve been. A real community connector. About 40% of the people who come through the trauma center aren’t from Knoxville. They’re from all over the region, and could be 6-8 hours from home. So, we’re patient advocates but also ambassadors for our Knoxville community.”

Besides being a good listener, added support, and community ambassadors, the TSN peers can also help patients with the logistics of being in the trauma center – how to ask questions, smooth the process, and advocate for yourself. That you have the right as a patient to stay in control of your treatment. Therese recalls how valuable RAF Co-founder (and Larsen’s wife) Adrian’s presence was during his time in the trauma center. “When he came, he was blessed in that he and his wife Adrian work so well together. She was at his bedside from the very beginning and took notes on every single thing that transpired – medications, staff changes, questions to ask. Oftentimes, patients don’t feel that they have a voice to ask those questions, but they did. They asked those questions.” Adrian now serves as a peer mentor for caregivers in the TSN.

In the end, Larsen says “The thing that motivates me the most is the fact that I’m alive and I can help the next person. I didn’t have that when I went through, so I recognize the value of it. It’s our duty to help the person who is going through what we went through, because we wish we had it.”

On Thursday, May 18th, Larsen will speak on the role of the peer visitor at the First Annual Trauma Survivor Network Survivor Celebration. This event will recognize the success and healing process of all the UT Trauma Center’s 2016 patients, as well as recognize the medical staff and volunteers who worked with them.

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“Drown Your Sorrows in Good Deeds” – How loss turned to hope with Random Acts of Flowers

“Drown Your Sorrows in Good Deeds”
How loss turned to hope with Random Acts of Flowers 

thumbnail_Charlie 2When Theresa Heller’s young son Charlie passed away in a tragic accident during the summer of 2015, she felt understandably at sea. He had been a vibrant boy and a source of love and laughter for his mother, family, classmates and community. “He was so full of life,” she says, “and the world was his oyster.” Charlie was known around their neighborhood as “Charlie the Merchant,” and he loved to sell (or simply give away) games, lemonade and toys from his table or wheelbarrow.

In honor of the vibrancy and generosity of her son’s life, Theresa decided to establish Flowers from Charlie the Merchant, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity (#5402085). She tells us that delivering flower bouquets in her community helps her keep the joy of his life alive and is the only thing that makes her feel better.

Theresa first discovered RAF in Readers’ Digest, but the seed of the idea for Charlie the Merchant came from young Charlie himself. Theresa had a job merchandising flowers at local stores, and sometimes, Charlie would come along. They noticed how many perfectly good flowers were going to waste because they were out of date or had one bad flower in the bunch. Charlie lamented the waste and wished the bouquets could be donated for people in their community.

After his passing, Theresa decided to put this idea into action. With advice from RAF and flowers from her family’s gardens, Flowers from Charlie the Merchant gave away over 1,000 bouquets in its first year of operation. These were delivered to residents of Kalamazoo County, including those at hospice, hospital, and nursing homes, as well as the VFW (baby potted plants), and many others.

The local Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 98 donated the initial money to get the nonprofit charity status and launch Flowers from Charlie the Merchant.  Portage Printing donated business cards to the cause, and Sign Crafters of Parchment donated a large magnet sign for the side of Theresa’s vehicle. In recent months, Charlie the Merchant has talked with Meals on Wheels through Senior Services of Kalamazoo, and is hoping to be able to reach the capacity to do this soon.

“I don’t have to sit and wonder ‘Now what? Who am I’? I’ve established this,
and it’s my future. The need is there.”

Charlie the MerchantTheresa also hopes to use this as a way to show Charlie’s cousins, friends and classmates about grief, and that “It’s helped them too, I think. They can see that you don’t have to be shattered forever. You can still do something. Life goes on and you can try to make the best of it.”

Charlie the Merchant has brought healing and meaning into her life.  She says, “I don’t have to sit and wonder ‘Now what? Who am I’? I’ve established this, and it’s my future. The need is there.”

In 2017, Theresa would love to continue to grow the reach of Charlie the Merchant. She asks that if anyone in the Kalamazoo area would be interesting in donating money or flowers, or volunteering to deliver boxes of bouquets, they visit the Charlie the Merchant website or email Theresa directly.

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RAF in the News

Everything You Need to Know About Our Origin Story

Random Acts of Flowers’ journey started with the vision of one man who saw firsthand the healing power of flowers.

Nine years ago today, our founder Larsen Jay had a near-fatal accident that changed his life forever. While repairing a building, he fell off a ladder and suffered massive injuries. He was rushed to the hospital, where he spent several weeks in a Level 1 trauma unit.

While Larsen was in the hospital, he received many flowers and saw their healing effect. As soon as he was able, he began taking his flowers to other patients, and the idea for Random Acts of Flowers was born.

A year after his accident he opened the first branch in Knoxville, Tenn. At that time, he said, “We had no idea what we were doing, but we knew we had to do it.”

Now RAF has five branches nationwide, and we’re looking forward to making our 200,000th delivery in early 2017. Thanks, Larsen, for sharing your vision — and to all the partners, volunteers, employees, donors, sponsors and recipients who’ve helped create a culture of kindness in our communities.