I remember a craft project that we did when I was a child. Mom opened up a bag of popsicle sticks and we “built” a house. The single popsicle stick we started with wasn’t very exciting or interesting and it certainly did not seem like it could become something that was. However, we had to start somewhere. So, we started with just one.
The Flower Project as we fondly call it, is the same story. Over six years ago, Ruth Rycroft noticed that the “unmarketable flowers” from her employer (Trader Joe’s) were simply going into the trash. She thought that, if her employer allowed, she could deliver them to the Blaine Senior Center (BSC) and they could be used to decorate the building.
They wouldn’t last long but they would get a new life and be enjoyed by many more people. Trader Joe’s agreed and other employees helped Ruth to set aside the “nicer bouquets.” Soon, Ruth’s husband Rob was enlisted to assist with the delivery of the flowers and they expanded the deliveries to Stafholt nursing/rehabilitation and eventually the Blaine library.
Volunteers from BSC helped to arrange the flowers to decorate the dining tables. If there were enough flowers, they created larger bouquets to decorate around the building.
Time passed and flowers arrived. Some weeks none and other weeks four buckets full would be available. It was a great arrangement and everyone at BSC, Stafholt and the Library greatly appreciated the addition of flowers to their environment. At Stafholt, the residents were encouraged to help make up the bouquets, providing another activity for them.
Ruth also promoted the idea with Trader Joe’s that the Blaine Food Bank could use food donations. When the opportunity to put the grocery chain’s name on the list arrived, the Blaine Food Bank was encouraged to submit the request. The new Trader Joe’s was built and when they opened, the Blaine Food Bank was chosen as one of the recipient agencies for their edible food products. Since, the truck from the Blaine Food Bank was already coming to Bellingham it was suggested that the flowers just be added to the load! While this took Ruth and Rob out of their “volunteer delivery job,” it also made it possible for a larger number of flowers to be delivered in better condition.
Currently, the Blaine Food Bank makes available to volunteers at the Blaine Senior Center their excess flowers. They receive flowers from both Trader Joe’s and Costco.
Many are distributed to patrons of the Food Bank, but a portion of flowers are held back for distribution to the Flower Project. The volunteers gather at 10am on Monday mornings at the Senior Center for a bouquet making party! But before snipping and arranging can begin, a large bucket is made up to go to Stafholt and the Blaine Library.
We set aside a few bundles to send over to the Blaine Information Center and we create a bucket to be delivered to the Blaine Birch Bay Park & Recreation District 2 office in Birch Bay.
Over the next several hours, over 30 bouquets are created. We harvest flowers from the prior week’s bouquets that still look good, to integrate into the new bouquets. Some weeks, we get fewer flowers than others, so it is good to be in the habit of salvaging what we can.
We are also building bouquets that will be delivered to Blaine City Hall offices, Blaine School District administration office, the individual school offices, the new clinic and the Blaine Public Works office. By the way, all the plant materials that are no longer useable are composted appropriately.
I want to give a special thank you to everyone who has helped develop and grow the Flower Project. This would be impossible without the inspiration of Ruth when she made that first delivery, the exceptional consideration of Costco and Trader Joe’s for their support of our local food bank, the generous sharing of flowers from the food bank, and the volunteers who come and manage the flowers. I get the special privilege of actually delivering the flowers around Blaine – what a gift!
The flowers give so much joy to the folks who work in our public offices, and put a smile on the face of everyone who walks in their doors. One cannot really be grumpy when looking at a bouquet of flowers.
From all our small efforts we build beautiful “indoor flower gardens” every week, throughout our city. I would call that the definition of community building. Drop by BSC, the Blaine Library or any of our public offices and say “hi” to the flowers.
