Carol Dawson
Extra Milers find their joy by finding their passion and combining it with actions that are beneficial to others. A small local group of talented women (and one creative guy) have found this precise combination, gathering in a church basement in New Albany to brighten the lives of individuals who are suffering.
For a few hours each week, the basement of the St John United Presbyterian Church is filled with the pleasing scent of flowers. Beautiful, brightly colored flowers and greenery filler pieces cover several tables. Creative hands move quickly in search of the right combination of colors and shapes to build the perfect arrangement. Sparkling vases of all sizes, colors and shapes await the creations.
The volunteers wear masks and stand 6 feet apart…chatting and laughing; their friendship and joy is obvious.
Once the arrangements are completed, these beautiful floral arrangements are picked up by New Albany Hosparus volunteers to be distributed to people facing life-limiting illnesses in Southern Indiana.
These volunteers work through Hope Southern Indiana’s program, Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of South-Central Indiana, and their group is fittingly called Flower Power. These artistic volunteers have worked several hours each week since March 2019.
In order for Flower Power to work, they must have…well, flowers. RSVP’s office manager, Karen Ellis, picks up the beautiful flower donations from several sources: Kroger on State/Charlestown Road, Kraft Graceland, Naville-Seabrook Funeral Home, Newcomer Funeral Home in New Albany, Jay C in Sellersburg, Buds in Bloom Florist and Nance’s Florist (both in New Albany).
RSVP works with people who are 55+ who are looking to volunteer in their communities. There is an application process with the intention of locating where RSVP can best place volunteers. RSVP covers five counties in Southern Indiana: Floyd, Clark, Harrison, Scott and Jefferson.
Flower Power volunteers arrange approximately 80-90 vases of flowers each week, with nearly 2,000 arrangements donated since the group was formed. The highest number donated in one week was 138 arrangements. They work until every flower is used.
The Flower Power founder, volunteer Loretta Broady, explained how she started the group, “I have a good friend who started something like this in Louisville called Flower Buds. I asked RSVP if they would sponsor a similar group in New Albany and they agreed.” She said it wasn’t difficult to coordinate because people are happy to volunteer and various sites donate the flowers. Broady added, “Karen (Ellis) is so supportive, and RSVP made it easy to begin this project.”
Volunteer Marilyn Bott summed up the group’s motivation, “We all feel uplifted by doing this work…and we truly like and appreciate one other.”
Vonya Gresham, Hosparus volunteer manager, stated they receive many notes and letters of appreciation from the exquisite arrangements donated by the Flower Power volunteers, but a couple stand out. One was a note of thanks from a patient’s daughter. Gresham described the note, “The woman said her mother loved flowers. She remembered growing up watching her mother working in the garden. Every time she walked into her mother’s room and a Flower Power arrangement was there, she was reminded of her mother’s beautiful gardens. She didn’t know if her ill mother knew the flowers were there, but she sure did.”
One of the more emotional responses came from a patient who used to give his wife a bouquet every year for their anniversary. Gresham explained, “The man had become so ill he had not been able keep the loving gesture. When we heard about his desire to keep the anniversary tradition, we provided a beautiful Flower Power bouquet to him so that he could gift it to his wife.”
These dedicated Extra Milers may not personally receive the impassioned statements of appreciation, but that isn’t why they show up each week. They love and understand the power of flowers and sharing that love with those who are ill is all they need to feel inspired.
To the volunteers of the RSVP Flower Power group, we thank you for the time and talent you give to brighten the lives of those who are suffering. Southern Indiana appreciates all you do!
The Link LonkNovember 06, 2020 at 11:17PM
https://www.newsandtribune.com/news/the-extra-miler-volunteers-bring-flower-power-to-southern-indiana/article_8ba46742-204b-11eb-9177-8362d1cd6b52.html
THE EXTRA MILER: Volunteers bring Flower Power to Southern Indiana - Evening News and Tribune
https://news.google.com/search?q=Flower&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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