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 –
Most people love a surprise, at least one that makes you smile or feel better. But it’s just as fun when you’re the one making someone else’s day.
“Flowers always lighten up my life. How could they not lighten up the people who get them?” said one volunteer.
“They’re beautiful. Who wouldn’t love a flower?” said another.
For Ruth Onesi, it would be a more than eight-hour drive from her home in Niagara Falls, NY, to our nearest branch in Indianapolis, IN. And, despite that her donations deliver hope and encouragement to people she will never meet in cities she may never visit, RAF can count on Onesi’s support like clockwork. She is just one of the many donors living in locations where we don’t have branches inspired by the Random Acts of Flowers mission.
How did she learn about RAF? Call it serendipity, if you will; but Ruth’s membership to the monthly Dollar Shave Club brought the RAF mission directly to her mailbox. The April 2015 Club Handbook featured a photo of RAF Founder and CEO Larsen Jay handing flowers to someone in a hospital bed and included some information about RAF. Ruth even admits, “I don’t know why I read it that month. I usually just recycle it.” So, we wanted to know what made Ruth decide donate from a distance in the first place, and what keeps her coming back to the RAF mission:
What attracted you to the RAF cause?
Everyone wants to know they matter. Some people are reminded of it more often than others, and unfortunately some people won’t ever know. There is always someone who cares for you without your knowledge; and, with RAF, it’s a guarantee that more and more people will know they matter and that someone cares for them when they need it the most.
Do you have a personal story that connects you to the RAF mission?
I am super grateful that I actually have zero personal experience being in a hospital. I just thought it was so cool. I’ve visited people in the hospital before and you see someone who’s in the waiting room or comes out and no one’s waiting for them. It’s awful.
One thing that does connect me is that I’m at that age where everyone is getting married, and they had a bunch of flowers at their weddings and then you’d just see them getting thrown away at the end of the night. It’s such a waste! So the fact that RAF recycles flowers gives hope to other peopl – something that would have been garbage – I think that’s really amazing.
Since you are a distance from an RAF branch, what motivates you to stay involved?
RAF is my favorite charity, hands down. I donate each week to some place, and I don’t see where the money goes for any of them. I go online and see the pictures RAF posts of people receiving flowers and that’s enough for me. I am always excited to continue donating to such an amazing cause that gives away happiness to everyone involved. I love knowing that what I donate can still affect multiple people in such a positive way.
In your opinion, what is the value of RAF’s mission?
The mission of recycling flowers to give hope and smiles to unsuspecting sick, lonely, and sometimes even ‘forgotten’ people is pretty much the greatest idea I had ever heard. I always root for the underdog.
What inspires you to continue supporting?
The best gifts are the simple ones, not just on special occasions or every once in a while. Random Acts of Flowers gives the gift of encouragement and boosts emotional health all year round!
What do you hope RAF will achieve moving forward?
My hope is that RAF will continue to grow and grow, and one day every city would have a branch. Most importantly, Niagara Falls, NY, of course!
What would you say to other potential supporters who don’t have an RAF branch in their backyard?
I challenge anyone who wants to see a small piece of the effect that this kind of charity has on people to try it for themselves. Go to a store, buy a bouquet, and hand it to anyone you want. See what happens. See how it changes their day. The happiness on their face, the way you feel knowing you may have just made their day. Maybe you just changed their whole outlook, or maybe even yours! And, that’s someone just walking down the street. That’s just a fraction of what RAF does everyday. The people who RAF gives flowers to are in the hospital, they’re lonely, so it means all the more to see that someone cares about them.
Simple and unexpected acts of kindness are easy to give but the echoes are truly endless!
What’s your favorite flower and why?
I do not have a favorite flower actually! But I do know that orange ones of any kind are usually the prettiest in my opinion.
Do you have any additional thoughts you want to share?
I just want to send a big thank you to Larsen and all the folks at Random Acts of flowers for providing something so amazing in a world full of chaos.
* Random Acts of Flowers ever-expanding service area currently includes Knoxville (TN), Tampa Bay (FL), Chicago (IL), Indianapolis (IN), and Silicon Valley (CA), but we receive support from donors in 34 of the 50 states. We hope you’ll join them by donating today!