Random Acts of Flowers Indianapolis’s Program Manager, Lindsey Potter says “The wonderful thing about RAF is that it’s a very simple concept that has a huge impact. There isn’t anyone in our community who has not been touched by the experience of having a loved one require healthcare assistance. Everyone can relate to the fear, the stress, and often just the boredom of being hospitalized. We do what we do in order to be bright spot in what can otherwise be a difficult and trying time.”
We spoke with Alison Kothe, executive director of Random Acts of Flowers Indianapolis, and she explained that flowers are gathered, arranged and delivered by volunteers. She says individual hospitals may direct their team to a particular floor or group of rooms, and from there the volunteers are turned loose to deliver a random burst of color and joy.
“I think this is an important service because there is growing evidence that proves flowers can truly help a patient heal,” she says. “There is a direct correlation between emotional wellbeing and physical wellbeing. They feed off one another. The receipt of an unexpected burst of color as well as an unexpected act of kindness from a perfect stranger with a warm and caring smile is a perfect formula for giving someone a spiritual boost.”
(Indiana University Methodist Health Foundation, Indianapolis, 1.19.2017)
2016 was an INCREDIBLE year here at Random Acts of Flowers. Thank you to everyone who supported our mission of delivering hope!
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“Many have written about Larsen Jay and his now nationally-present charity Random Acts of Flowers. However, as it often happens with success, we only see the tip of the iceberg – the end-result, the success – but are not privy to the rest of the story.
What happens before success is achieved and how does one get to it? I sat down one afternoon and asked Larsen about his paths and passions, understanding more about the man behind so many great production projects and great initiatives benefiting the Knoxville community.”
(Thoughtfulicious, 1.8.2017)
I discovered Random Acts of Flowers about a year ago as I was searching for employment at nonprofit organizations in Knoxville, TN (where I knew I would be moving in the late spring). I had never heard of RAF before, but I was immediately enamored of the simplicity and straightforwardness of the mission. The concept of a pipeline taking what is often incorrectly viewed as worthless waste and transforming it into a beacon of hope and encouragement touched me deeply.
I was so inspired by the mission that, though there wasn’t a position available at the time, I reached out to the HR Manager in the National Office in Knoxville, expressing my interest and promising that – if nothing else – I would love to be a volunteer in the local branch once I had settled into my new city.
So, when I found out that Random Acts of Flowers was in search of a Communications Chameleon (as CMO/COO Cindy McConkey Cox styles my position), I jumped at the opportunity to apply. Just as Cindy calls herself an accidental COO, I consider myself an accidental graphic designer and marketing manager, a chameleon who approaches each project with a fresh eye and a spirit of adaptability.
I come from a theatre background (Shakespeare, specifically) and have worked professionally as an actor and a playwright for nearly a decade. In the course of my theatre work, I found myself suddenly cast into graphic design and marketing roles. This hands-on, by-the-bootstraps approach to learning the trade has allowed me to hone my skills and mindset for the nonprofit world.
And, while the skills are important, the mindset of humility and service that threads through nonprofit work is the center of my professional ethos. That’s what excites me most about being at Random Acts of Flowers. Everyone from CEO and Founder Larsen Jay to the every-once-in-awhile volunteer factors the mission and its goals into every idea, every project, and every day.
We’re not here for ourselves; we’re not here for money or influence or attention; we’re not really here for the flowers. We’re here for the joy we see on the faces of those surprised by the gift of a bouquet. We’re here for the knowledge that a little love goes a long way. We’re here to deliver hope and encouragement, and – if you want to call it just a little selfish – we’re here for the satisfaction that serving a smile gives back to us.
The short version of this story is this – Now three months on the job, I am so happy to be here at Random Acts of Flowers. The mission and the culture of the organization fits with my philosophies seamlessly, and I am thrilled to be able to contribute my particularly flexible brand of marketing and communications manager-ness to this amazing cause.
So, if you have an occasion to send me something to proofread, you can go ahead and address it to your collateral designing, copy-editing comma chameleon.
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Every single resident of an Indianapolis nursing home received a holiday bouquet Friday morning. Volunteers from Random Acts of Flowers delivered the arrangements to residents at the North Capitol Avenue Nursing home – all 100 of them.
Cathy Poole was on her first delivery with the non-profit Friday. “It’s so special to give people things and especially this time of year and surprise them,” she said.
Volunteers with Random Acts of Flowers delivered hundreds of poinsettias to people in the Knoxville area on Friday.
They stopped at four hospitals and three senior centers, delivering 600 poinsettias in all. The tropicals were donated by greenhouses in the area as well as members of the community.
Among their stops: the Sherrill Hills center in West Knoxville.
Every so often, we like to reach out to a past [echievement] award winner, to see what they’ve been up to…Well, lucky us, Larsen happens to be passing through eTown and he joins us now to tell us how things have evolved –