“Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity,” wrote poet John Ruskin. Thanks to an enthusiastic and compassionate Merrimack Valley woman and volunteers with the Power of Flowers Project, people who might not otherwise experience the pleasure of flowers can now enjoy an unexpected gift bouquet.
When Dunstable resident Joyce Bellefeuille read how a Michigan Girl Scout troop refreshed donated flowers for the enjoyment of others through a “Flowers for Friends” initiative, she thought, “I could do that!” She began the Power of Flowers Project in February 2009 as a way to recycle flowers from weddings, memorial services and other events in a manner that provides joy to a wide variety of people in the Merrimack Valley.
Bellefeuille has the know-how and the facilities; she owns a floral design business in Dunstable. “I run my business out of my home, so I have some flexibility,” she says. “My work enables me to make time to donate.” She also provides the use of her business refrigerators and work space.
Bellefeuille contacted funeral home directors and banquet managers, some of whom jumped on board immediately and began to participate on a regular basis. The process is simple. Anyone with floral arrangements left behind after an event calls Bellefeuille, who mobilizes volunteers to pick them up. Bellefeuille and her crew quickly break down larger arrangements, refresh the flowers and fashion them into individual-size bouquets, which are usually delivered within 24 hours. Beautiful flowers are reused and shared instead of getting thrown away.
“The list of possibilities of people who would appreciate the gift of flowers is endless,” Bellefeuille says. “We deliver to nursing homes, cancer clinics, Meals on Wheels, homeless mothers, rehab hospitals, soup kitchens — places where people wouldn’t expect to get flowers for free, people who might have been forgotten.”
Donors and Recipients Touched by the Project:
David MacDonald’s family ordered floral arrangements from Belle Feuille Floral Design for his father’s memorial service. Joyce bundled up some of the flowers after the service and distributed them through the town of Tyngsborough’s Council on Aging. Each recipient of a recycled bouquet received a card that said: “Compliments of the Power of Flowers Project and the MacDonald family.”
“As I sent out my thank-yous to those who had sent flowers after my father died, I felt a symmetry because I was receiving thank-yous myself from people I didn’t even know who had enjoyed those same flowers, remade,” says David MacDonald. “That was very touching and moving for me.”
Joyce Bellefeuille donates time and facilities from her home-based floral design business.
People who donate flowers can designate where they would like the flowers to be sent. Currently, the project delivers in Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Groton, Hollis, Hudson, N.H., Lowell, Nashua, North Chelmsford, Pepperell, Townsend, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro and Westford. Bellefeuille would be happy to expand that area if volunteer drivers were available.
Power of Flowers also could use more volunteers to help process arrangements should Bellefeuille be tied up by her business.
John W. Crane, director at the O’Donnell Funeral Home in Lowell, says, “The reaction we have had from our families has been very positive. They see the value of using the flowers for someone else’s good instead of disposing of the bouquets, or flowers dying in a day or two. We offer our families the opportunity to donate to the Power of Flowers Project, and usually they say, ‘Absolutely, yes.’ ”
Each Bouquet a Precious Gift:
Small individual bouquets are created in a biodegradable coffee cup. A typical donation is recycled into about 30 individual arrangements that would cost up to $25 each if purchased at a florist. “Just because recipients are getting these bouquets free doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to have them done well,” Bellefeuille says. “We put a lot of thought and effort into each bouquet.”
Living Green:
The Power of Flowers Project is an excellent example of green living. The project:
• Reuses 80 percent to 90 percent of the donated flowers.
• Composts spent blooms.
• Reuses ribbons and containers.
• Recycles plastic containers and apparatus back into the floral industry. In one year, Power of Flowers has already kept the equivalent of a small truck’s worth of plastic out of area landfills, according to Bellefeuille.
How you can support the Power of Flowers Project:
• Volunteer to help create bouquets. (Experience in floral design is not necessary; you will be trained.)
• Donate flowers.
• Contribute funds to defray expenses. Even with donated floral displays and volunteer labor, it costs about $1 to process each Power of Flower bouquet, given transportation and supply expenses.
• Volunteer to pick up donated flowers or to deliver renewed bouquets.
• Encourage individuals, businesses and funeral homes to donate floral bouquets.
• Invite a speaker from the project to come to your garden club, senior center, church, temple or civic organization.
Community Spotlight – The Power of Flowers
Photos by Adrien Bisson.
“Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity,” wrote poet John Ruskin. Thanks to an enthusiastic and compassionate Merrimack Valley woman and volunteers with the Power of Flowers Project, people who might not otherwise experience the pleasure of flowers can now enjoy an unexpected gift bouquet.
When Dunstable resident Joyce Bellefeuille read how a Michigan Girl Scout troop refreshed donated flowers for the enjoyment of others through a “Flowers for Friends” initiative, she thought, “I could do that!” She began the Power of Flowers Project in February 2009 as a way to recycle flowers from weddings, memorial services and other events in a manner that provides joy to a wide variety of people in the Merrimack Valley.
Bellefeuille has the know-how and the facilities; she owns a floral design business in Dunstable. “I run my business out of my home, so I have some flexibility,” she says. “My work enables me to make time to donate.” She also provides the use of her business refrigerators and work space.
Bellefeuille contacted funeral home directors and banquet managers, some of whom jumped on board immediately and began to participate on a regular basis. The process is simple. Anyone with floral arrangements left behind after an event calls Bellefeuille, who mobilizes volunteers to pick them up. Bellefeuille and her crew quickly break down larger arrangements, refresh the flowers and fashion them into individual-size bouquets, which are usually delivered within 24 hours. Beautiful flowers are reused and shared instead of getting thrown away.
“The list of possibilities of people who would appreciate the gift of flowers is endless,” Bellefeuille says. “We deliver to nursing homes, cancer clinics, Meals on Wheels, homeless mothers, rehab hospitals, soup kitchens — places where people wouldn’t expect to get flowers for free, people who might have been forgotten.”
Donors and Recipients Touched by the Project:
David MacDonald’s family ordered floral arrangements from Belle Feuille Floral Design for his father’s memorial service. Joyce bundled up some of the flowers after the service and distributed them through the town of Tyngsborough’s Council on Aging. Each recipient of a recycled bouquet received a card that said: “Compliments of the Power of Flowers Project and the MacDonald family.”
“As I sent out my thank-yous to those who had sent flowers after my father died, I felt a symmetry because I was receiving thank-yous myself from people I didn’t even know who had enjoyed those same flowers, remade,” says David MacDonald. “That was very touching and moving for me.”
Joyce Bellefeuille donates time and facilities from her home-based floral design business.
People who donate flowers can designate where they would like the flowers to be sent. Currently, the project delivers in Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Groton, Hollis, Hudson, N.H., Lowell, Nashua, North Chelmsford, Pepperell, Townsend, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro and Westford. Bellefeuille would be happy to expand that area if volunteer drivers were available.
Power of Flowers also could use more volunteers to help process arrangements should Bellefeuille be tied up by her business.
John W. Crane, director at the O’Donnell Funeral Home in Lowell, says, “The reaction we have had from our families has been very positive. They see the value of using the flowers for someone else’s good instead of disposing of the bouquets, or flowers dying in a day or two. We offer our families the opportunity to donate to the Power of Flowers Project, and usually they say, ‘Absolutely, yes.’ ”
Each Bouquet a Precious Gift:
Small individual bouquets are created in a biodegradable coffee cup. A typical donation is recycled into about 30 individual arrangements that would cost up to $25 each if purchased at a florist. “Just because recipients are getting these bouquets free doesn’t mean they don’t deserve to have them done well,” Bellefeuille says. “We put a lot of thought and effort into each bouquet.”
Living Green:
The Power of Flowers Project is an excellent example of green living. The project:
• Reuses 80 percent to 90 percent of the donated flowers.
• Composts spent blooms.
• Reuses ribbons and containers.
• Recycles plastic containers and apparatus back into the floral industry. In one year, Power of Flowers has already kept the equivalent of a small truck’s worth of plastic out of area landfills, according to Bellefeuille.
How you can support the Power of Flowers Project:
• Volunteer to help create bouquets. (Experience in floral design is not necessary; you will be trained.)
• Donate flowers.
• Contribute funds to defray expenses. Even with donated floral displays and volunteer labor, it costs about $1 to process each Power of Flower bouquet, given transportation and supply expenses.
• Volunteer to pick up donated flowers or to deliver renewed bouquets.
• Encourage individuals, businesses and funeral homes to donate floral bouquets.
• Invite a speaker from the project to come to your garden club, senior center, church, temple or civic organization.
For more information, visit the Power of Flowers Project’s website at www.BellefeuilleFloralDesign.com/Project-Power-Of-Flowers.htm