Power of Flowers Project

Our bouquets lead to a valuable connection; one that may be lost for someone living alone or with a disease. In fact, a study by Rutgers University found that flowers have an immediate and long-lasting impact on happiness, behavior, and memory for both men and women. Research has also found that hospital patients in rooms with flowers needed less postoperative pain medication, had lower systolic blood pressure and pulse rates, and had a more positive psychological state than patients in rooms without flowers .

Our work helps to improve well-being for a forgotten population that includes those who have devoted their lives to caring for others.

Our strategy is as follows:
• Be sustainable by increasing our donor base
• Continue our recycling efforts by working with the floral industry to reprocess floral containers
• Expanding our outreach efforts to Seniors and Veterans in our geographical locations by continuing to deliver our signature bouquets to
400+ people living in care communities
• Increase monthly Flower Therapy workshops to care community locations in our area
• Increase our Kindness Connection workshops to businesses that have a large employee base

Over the past ten years, our outreach has grown exponentially. Today, our 130+ active volunteers who have logged over 10,000 hours annually, participate six days each week in the many tasks required to send 400 bouquets weekly into the world of lonely seniors. We have partnered with numerous floral donor locations (includes florals from weddings, graduations, corporate events, memorial services, and retailers) and deliver our creations at least three times per year to more than 75 Care Communities (includes Assisted Living Facilities, Elder Services Agencies, and Veterans Services) in the Merrimack Valley.

The Power of Flowers Project also offers approximately 5 flower therapy sessions per month where a team of volunteers conduct workshops at care communities. We supply all florals and supplies and assist residents in creating their own bouquets. Residents look forward to these workshops and enjoy an hour of focused attention and conversation with our volunteers. At the conclusion of a recent session, a frail gentleman, reluctant at first to join in, showed off his creation and said, “I am so proud of myself!”

Additionally, our organization is proud to offer opportunities for corporate engagement by sponsoring on-site bouquet production workshops where employees make bouquets, select a care community, and help deliver the bouquets.

Tracking our production and bouquet deliveries, incoming flowers and Flower Therapy workshops helps us determine our viability. As we review the numbers through current year, we see increases in each category. Based on records dating back to 2009, we have delivered 100,000 free bouquets to date. Our 130 active volunteers have contributed more than 10,000 hours annually in the many tasks required to send 400 bouquets weekly. We have recycled 3,000 floral containers back into the floral industry each year.

Our work requires detailed record keeping and we have recently upgraded our technology infrastructure to support fundraising initiatives, document our financial data, track our volunteers, incoming flower donations, and outgoing bouquet production.