Meet the volunteers who bring flowers from weddings and funerals to hospice patients

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Aging Untold) — Inside Crescent Hill Baptist Church in Louisville, a group of volunteers gathers each week surrounded by color, creativity and collaboration.

They call themselves the Flower Buds.

From events to those in need

The Flower Buds take donated flowers from weddings, funerals, wholesalers, supermarkets, florists, galas, banquets and other community events. They cut, clean and arrange the blooms into vases, then deliver them to nursing homes, the VA hospital, assisted living facilities and shelters.

“Amazingly gifted with so many flowers from places like Kroger who have overbought and can’t sell them, and they allow us to pick them up and then bring them here, and then we cut them, clean them and vase them. Then we take them to nursing homes, the VA hospital, assisted living facilities,” Jodie Raible, a Flower Buds volunteer, said.

The group sends out about 100 vases every week.

“I take flowers to Up for Women and Children, it’s a day homeless shelter for women,” Stephanie Mullins, a Flower Buds volunteer, said.

Delivering to the VA

Volunteer Clem Russell is a veteran and takes particular pride in delivering flowers to the VA hospital.

“We deliver to the hospice unit there at the VA and they love seeing them come in. The families are so happy to see the flowers,” Russell said.

“When you are in the end stages of your life you want to be cheered up,” Raible said.

A growing group with a big milestone

The Flower Buds started with six to eight volunteers. The group now has 40.

Mullins has been doing it for 18 years.

“I love flowers and this is what I wanted to do when I retired, so, I’ve been doing this for 18 years now,” she said.

The group is celebrating a major milestone: since 2006, the Flower Buds have delivered more than 90,000 vases of flowers.

“All these flowers would be thrown in the garbage, so we put them to good use,” Mullins said.

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