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[imageframe lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”none” hover_type=”none” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”none” link=”” linktarget=”_self” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] 
[/imageframe][fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”” padding_right=”” hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]Many of us will celebrate the longest day of the year – the Summer Solstice on June 21st – by spending time outside with our friends and family, soaking up the sun, and reveling in the fact that we’ve made it another year around the sun while twilight slowly settles around us. But, for many, this longest day has an even greater meaning. The Alzheimer’s Association of America has adopted the summer solstice as their Longest Day and say “The Longest Day is all about love. Love for all those affected by Alzheimer’s disease.”
At Random Acts of Flowers, we’re honoring individuals battling Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other memory-related ailments by celebrating The Brightest Week on June 17-23. With financial support from Eli Lilly and Company, we will make 5,000 deliveries to memory care units at hospital and assisted living facilities in Indianapolis, Knoxville, Chicago, and Tampa Bay during this special week.
“Alzheimer’s has its grasp on more than 5 million people in the United States. But that isn’t just a statistic,” said Phyllis Ferrell, vice president, Lilly global Alzheimer’s disease platform. “It’s my dad. It’s my father-in-law. It’s mothers and fathers. Brothers and sisters. Friends and neighbors. And yes, because Alzheimer’s doesn’t discriminate based on age, it’s sometimes our sons and daughters.”
We encounter recipients facing Alzheimer’s disease at the hospitals and assisted living facilities that we visit on a regular basis. For them – and for us – a bouquet delivery is a welcome bright spot in a world that is turned upside down –[/fusion_text][two_fifth last=”no” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][separator style_type=”none” top_margin=”30″ bottom_margin=”” sep_color=”” border_size=”” icon=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” width=”” alignment=”center” class=”” id=””][imageframe lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” style_type=”none” hover_type=”none” bordercolor=”” bordersize=”0px” borderradius=”0″ stylecolor=”” align=”none” link=”” linktarget=”_self” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” hide_on_mobile=”no” class=”” id=””] 
[/imageframe][/two_fifth][three_fifth last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]“My elderly father who suffers from Alzheimer’s was recently admitted to UT Medical Center. He was placed on the oncology wing for lack of space elsewhere. Cancer patients tend to receive lots of flowers and visitors. Once someone has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, a disease we can only hope to manage not cure, friends and even family begin to distance themselves. The sweetest lady came in carrying a bright yellow basket full of carnations, hydrangeas, daffodils and sunflowers. My dad was so excited.
He said, “Those flowers brighten up the whole room, don’t they?” It is amazing how something as small as a basket of flowers can mean so much. Many, many thanks.” – Joanie H.[/fusion_text][/three_fifth][fusion_text]
“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the flower arrangements you brought. I am especially grateful for the flowers in our Memory Support rooms. My husband has been there since it opened in 2009, and flowers brightened his room until the last petal fell, brightening the days for him, me, and all the caretakers. What pleasure you have given to all of us, and I want you to know how much I appreciate the surprise.” – Marcia E.
And, research has shown that a familiar smell can bring back memories from the past. A study from Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D at Rutgers University “finds flowers decrease depression, encourage companionship and enrich short-term memories in seniors.”
Sunny Biden from The Pat Summitt Foundation (an organization in Knoxville, TN, fighting Alzheimer’s disease) says “with Alzheimer’s the first thing to go is, short-term memory, so bringing flowers to someone… there’s something nostalgic about a flower that reminds someone of a memory. So, if someone gets a certain flower that they loved, it might bring back a childhood memory that they’re more inclined to remember than a short-term memory.”
Flowers have the ability to brighten a person’s room and their spirits; and, through Eli Lilly and Co.’s generous support, Random Act of Flowers will be able to deliver hope, healing, and personal moments of kindness to 5,000 individuals during The Brightest Week.[/fusion_text][/fullwidth]
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Just before the end of a long, frigid, lake-effect winter, Random Acts of Flowers Chicago had the opportunity to feel the warmth of summer through a very special partnership with the Joffrey Ballet. For opening night of the company’s season opener (and North American premiere) Midsummer Night’s Dream, Random Acts of Flowers took center stage for just a moment to share our mission with the performers and the audience.
RAF Chicago’s Executive Director Andrea Lutz reminisced about the experience. “Sitting in the audience, watching this Midsummer Night’s Dream, I was filled with happiness that we were partnering with such a touchstone of the Chicago community and their audience was connecting with us in a new way.”
Volunteers created beautiful, rustic bouquets for the dancers to congratulate them on a wonderful opening night and to share the power of flowers first-hand. One of the dancers even shared the gift with all of her followers on Instagram.
As part of the partnership, RAF Chicago was also featured in the program (see page 42) for Midsummer Night’s Dream, reaching the thousands of audience members who saw the production.
A volunteer who received tickets to attend the performance wrote to Andrea and Sydney. “My husband and I went to the Joffrey Ballet performance on Thursday night, and Midsummer Night’s Dream was fabulous…The ballet was visually surreal, inventive, and like nothing we’d ever seen. Humor, darkness, weirdness, and beauty from one moment to the next, a masterpiece. I can’t thank you enough for the tickets. We wouldn’t have had the experience otherwise!”
Partnerships like the one with the Joffrey Ballet are important to the Random Acts of Flowers mission because it aligns RAF and the mission of delivering hope to a beloved cultural institution’s mission; it puts Random Acts of Flowers front-and-center to a new audience of supporters through advertising space and social media; it gives us an opportunity to thank volunteers who do so much to keep the day-to-day mission running; and it showcases was RAF is about on a larger scale, positioning us a nonprofit to know in the communities we serve.
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If there’s ever a season punctuated by flora, it’s spring. In-bloom flowers awaken in every garden and at every grocery store. TBH, just simply looking at them functions as therapy, which is something that’s not lost on sisters Christine and Caroline Strzalka, who want to make stems an everyday part of life.
This year, the duo launched their bouquet subscription service, [RAF Supporter] It’s By U, which offers DIY farm-fresh flower-arranging subscription kits that are suitable for even the most amateur of floral stylists. “One of the things we’re trying to do is allow people have flowers in their lives more often,” says Christine. “They’re not just for gifting or special events—they should always be in your home or office.”
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Knoxville grower John Benzinger has been cultivating the local soil for more than fifty years. In that time, he ran a tobacco farm and a dairy farm followed by a sunflower nursery. He got into the flower business several years after selling the dairy farm in the mid-1980s. During the interim, John returned to the University of Tennessee to complete his college education. “I finished my degree at age 45. I started in 1957 and ended in 1984” Benzinger laughs as he recounts the dates. Then, he taught horticulture and agriculture at Lenoir City High School, and learned greenhouse gardening alongside his students.
Over time, the cut flowers that John grew found their way into farmers’ markets from here to Atlanta and then he sold sunflowers in Kroger grocery stores. Then, he saw RAF co-founder and CEO Larsen Jay on TV and thought “this is a way I can give flowers to people so they can enjoy them.”
The RAF Knoxville workshop enjoyed the sunny faces of John and his sunflowers all summer long. Bouquets featured the beautiful orange and yellow flowers, and brought sunshine to recipients in assisted living facilities and hospitals from Oak Ridge to Maryville.
And, a piece of John goes with each one of his flowers – the brightness of his smile, the earthiness of his laugh, and his commitment to the people in his community.
Today, many of us will celebrate the longest day of the year – the summer solstice – by spending time outside with our friends and family, soaking up the sun, and reveling in the fact that we’ve made it another year around the sun while twilight slowly settles around us.
But, for many, this Longest Day has an even greater meaning. The Alzheimer’s Association of America has adopted the summer solstice as their Longest Day and they say “The Longest Day is all about love. Love for all those affected by Alzheimer’s disease.” It’s a day to celebrate the vibrancy of the lives of those individuals affected by this disease and to give them and their families an opportunity to raise money while participating in activities and hobbies that they’ve always shared.
“My elderly father who suffers from Alzheimer’s was recently admitted to UT Medical Center. We are still here. He was placed on the oncology wing for lack of space elsewhere. Cancer patients who we have hope will beat their disease tend to receive lots of flowers and visitors. Once someone has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, a disease we can only hope to manage not cure, friends and even family begin to distance themselves. I had just thought that I should get Pop some flowers myself when a gentle knock came at the door. The sweetest lady came in carrying a bright yellow basket full of carnations, hydrangeas, daffodils and sunflowers. My dad was so excited. He said, “Those flowers brighten up the whole room, don’t they?” They sure do! It is amazing how something as small as a basket of flowers can mean so much. Many, many thanks.” – Joanie H., Knoxville
Here at Random Acts of Flowers, we encounter recipients facing Alzheimer’s disease at the hospitals and assisted living facilities that we visit on a regular basis. For them – and for us – a bouquet delivery is a welcome bright spot in a world that is turned upside down.
“To all of you at RAF – I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the flower arrangements you brought to Moldaw Residences in Palo Alto. I am especially grateful for the flowers in our Memory Support rooms. My husband has been there since it opened in 2009, and flowers brightened his room until the last petal fell, brightening the days for him, me, and all the caretakers. What pleasure you have given to all of us, and I want you to know how much I appreciate the surprise of RAF.” – Marcia E., Silicon Valley
And, research has shown that a familiar smell can bring back memories from the past (see our recent blogpost Tuesdays with Flowers: Making Memories Blossom with Random Acts of Flowers for more on the subject).
Sunny Biden from The Pat Summitt Foundation (an organization fighting Alzheimer’s disease with a comprehensive approach, awarding grants to organizations that provide research to treat, prevent, cure, and ultimately eradicate this disease; education and awareness of Alzheimer’s, its onset and treatment; and support services to patients, their families and caregivers) says that “with Alzheimer’s the first thing to go is, short-term memory, so bringing flowers to someone… there’s always something nostalgic about a flower that reminds someone of a memory. So, if someone gets a certain flower that they loved, it might bring back a childhood memory that they’re more inclined to remember than a short-term memory.”
Every day of the year, Random Acts of Flowers uses flowers to bring renewed hope and new moments of kindness to recipients battling illness, injury, and the aging process. Today, on The Longest Day, we would like to remind you to take a few of these “extra” minutes to spend time with the people you love – do something special with them, for them, or in their honor.
roFlowers charity partnersSAN DIEGO, May 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — To honor the brave men and women who have served our country, leading online floral gifting brand ProFlowers® (NASDAQ: FTD) and Sun Valley Floral Farms will donate and deliver 90,000 Royal Lilies to charities, veteran’s hospitals and centers around the nation. Random Acts of Flowers, ProFlowers charity partner whose ongoing mission is to create moments of kindness in healthcare facilities, will deliver the beautiful, bright bouquets throughout the third and fourth weeks of May in honor of Military Appreciation Month and Memorial Day.
Lilies represent appreciation, and Sun Valley’s Royal Spring lilies are an exclusive hybrid species of Asiatic-Longiflorum Lilies. Their blooms are bigger than traditional Asiatic Lilies, they have the longest vase life of any lily, and they boast the widest variety of colors including wonderful hues of peach, pink, orange and yellow. ProFlowers, Sun Valley and Random Acts of Flowers wanted to honor hospitalized and disabled military members who have served our country with the fresh flowers.
ProFlowers trucks are transporting the lilies to charity partners in Chicago, Indianapolis, Knoxville, Silicon Valley, Sacramento and Portland. Random Acts of Flowers and ProFlowers employee volunteers will deliver the bouquets to veterans in locations including Hines VA Hospital, Evanston Vet Center, Richard Roudebush Medical Center, the Palo Alto VA and others.
Since 1998, ProFlowers works directly with top-quality growers such as Sun Valley to deliver fresh flowers at a great value right to your recipient’s doorstep. Sun Valley is one of the largest grower/distributors of specialty cut flowers in the United States with farms in Northern and Southern California.
Random Acts of Flowers is ProFlowers main charity partner. To date, ProFlowers has donated more than 38,000 bouquets — 460,000 flowers — to the organization for its ongoing mission.
“At ProFlowers, our mission is to inspire, support and delight people through the gifting of fresh, beautiful flowers, while also doing our part to support the communitiesin which we live and operate,” said ProFlowers General Manager and Senior Vice President Laura Szeliga. “Honoring the lives, courage and legacy of our military is a part of that, and we know how much a simple gesture such as a vase of bright flowers can make a really meaningful impact. It goes a long way.”
“It is through ProFlowers and all of our partners’ continued support that brings our mission of delivering hope alive, day in and day out,” said Random Acts of Flowers National Programs and Strategic Growth Director Kellie Doyle. “We are also especially grateful to Sun Valley for these beautiful lilies. It will bring so many smiles to veterans across the country.”
Sun Valley Floral Farms President Lane DeVries said, “It is an honor to participate in this program and share our flowers with veterans across the United States. The men and women who selflessly serve in our nation’s military deserve our admiration. We are humbled by their service and see this small gesture as a way to say thank you.”
ProFlowers offers deep discounts to men and women in uniform at www.proflowers.com/militarydiscount. Visit ProFlowers.com for super-premium quality flowers for any kind of occasion including birthdays, anniversaries and “just because.”
About FTD Companies, Inc.
FTD Companies, Inc. is a premier floral and gifting company. Through our diversified family of brands, we provide floral, specialty foods, gifts and related products to consumers primarily in the United States and the United Kingdom. We also provide floral products and services to retail florists and other retail locations throughout these same geographies. FTD has been delivering flowers since 1910 and the highly-recognized FTD® and Interflora® brands are supported by the iconic Mercury Man logo®, which is displayed in nearly 35,000 floral shops in over 125 countries. In addition to FTD and Interflora, our diversified portfolio of brands includes the following trademarks: ProFlowers®, ProPlants®, Shari’s Berries®, Personal Creations®, RedEnvelope®, Flying Flowers®, Flowers Direct™, Ink Cards™, Postagram™ and Gifts.com™. FTD Companies, Inc. is headquartered in Downers Grove, Ill. For more information, please visit www.ftdcompanies.com.
SOURCE FTD Companies, Inc.
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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).
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
“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.”
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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Flowers for Dreams is a Chicago charity that sells flowers and donates the proceeds to innovative charities solving uniquely Chicago problems. They pick a local charity each month and donate a portion of their profits to that charity. In July, they made Random Acts of Flowers their charity partner and helped us deliver flowers to new moms at Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center.
After the delivery, they said, “Our staff was deeply touched by the smiles radiated by all of those that received an arrangement from Random Acts of Flowers. We loved partnering with RAF during the month of July, and are looking forward to seeing them add more positivity into the world.”
Thank you, Flowers for Dreams, for supporting us. Talk about flower power!
Volunteers Marilyn and Jim Misner got involved about a year ago after hearing about our newest branch on the local news. The couple loves gardening and flowers and the added bonus of paying that love forward to people in local healthcare facilities really drew them to the mission! They love knowing their work touches lives in the community by raising patients’ spirits during a difficult time.
