A South Florida non-profit gives old bouquets new life. Courtney Allen has this 7Spotlight on this flower power.
On a Friday afternoon at a Fort Lauderdale senior home, a special delivery brings joy.
Bonnie Van Duzer: “What a wonderful feeling!”
Maryann Franz: “They’re lovely.”
Jeadine Smith: “It feels wonderful; it’s a blessing.”
Colorful bouquets of flowers flood the dining room at Atlantic Shore Retirement Residence, courtesy of Shayna Schon and her non-profit “Flower Power.”
Shayna Schon: “It just kept coming up, like, ‘What can you do for somebody when there’s nothing else really to do and you want to show them you love them?’ And it was flowers.”
Shayna says she got the idea for Flower Power after delivering bouquets to a struggling friend.
Shayna Schon: “It clicked. I was like, ‘I want to make a non-profit. Giving out flowers, just spreading smiles, and making people happy.'”
Her biggest obstacle was being able to afford the flowers.
Shayna Schon: “So I was like, ‘How do I get flowers at an affordable price?’ And I kind of thought, ‘Wait, maybe people can donate flowers to us that would otherwise be tossed.'”
It worked. Flower Power now partners with local florists and grocery stores to repurpose old bouquets that would have been thrown away.
It started small…
Shayna Schon: “When we started, it was just me and my husband and my kids, which was very fun, but very time-consuming.”
Shayna knew she needed a hand, so she partnered with the Foundation for Independent Living. The special needs program was looking for a program for participants, so Flower Power stepped in to teach participants flower arranging.
Shayna Schon: “They were looking for a program for the residents, something like impactful, creative, social, and we were looking for help so we could deliver more flowers, and you know, spread more smiles, so it was perfect.”
Now, almost every Friday. It’s all hands on deck as the participants sort through the stems and carefully pack their own, unique bouquets.
Michael Bederman: “I like to have a lot of colors of flowers, different assortments, and I like to do the bouquet and make people happy and make them feel peace.”
After making the bouquets, the residents pile into vans and deliver their creations to local hospitals and retirement communities.
Hallie Puttrich: It’s a huge thing just to get one person to smile; that’s all I really need.”
And smile they did as some accepted flowers for the first time in years.
Producer: “Do you remember the last time you got flowers?”
Jeadine Smith: “Oh, eons ago, not even for my birthday, but thank you!”
Bonnie Van Du Zeer: “I was in high school but that’s been a while.”
Shayna says these kinds of reactions are why she truly believes in Flower Power.
Shayna Schon: “We need to keep doing it. We need to keep spreading love. It’s, like, simple; it takes a few minutes.”
Minutes which turn into hours of joy in someone’s life.
Flower Power’s goal is to deliver flowers across the state every day of the week. They need donations and volunteers. For more information, click here.
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