California families give back with flowers

January 18, 2011

A group of families in California followed the lead of the Obama family by spending the Martin Luther King holiday giving back to those in need.

The Ventura County Star reports that about 20 families participated in a flower giveaway called Blooming Hope.

The program, which is in its third year, recruited volunteers to spend the holiday putting together flower gifts and delivering them to local homeless shelters, senior living facilities and hospitals.

"President Obama made it a day to give back and I wanted to give back and this is a way to bloom it forward," flower importer and program organizer Bonnie Armellini told the news outlet. "It's just grass roots. It's just neighbors helping neighbors. It's just giving from the heart and it just warms my heart."

The flower varieties volunteers worked with included irises and tulips among others.

Volunteers sorted the various flowers, organized them in bunches and wrapped them for delivery. At some of the destinations, such as senior living centers, participants arranged the blooms in vases for display.

In addition to the flowers, some volunteers also made cards and donated toiletry items and books to the organizations.

"Flowers cheer up people and they make people happy," volunteer Hollis Lanson told the news provider. "It's going to put smiles on people's faces and make them feel good."

Whether it's a volunteer effort or not, sending flowers is an ideal way to boost someone's spirits.

In fact, a recent Rutgers University study found that flowers have an immediate impact on mood. In the study, researchers found that every person who received fresh flowers was excited.

This article is brought to you by Teleflora - a leader in the flower delivery service for over 75 years. Teleflora helps its customers buy flowers online and specializes in bringing the freshest available flowers for a variety of holidays and occasions - all hand-delivered in keepsake vases by the best local florists.

e5dd5588-2b69-405a-a06b-9c1c0f1190b0|0|.0

Add comment

Commenting Options

Enter your personal information to the left

Name*

E-mail*

Website

b i u quote

Notify me when new comments are added

comment policy