Knoxville In Bloom Newsletter – Fall 2018

We can’t expect good things to just happen on their own, we have to make them happen. Random Acts of Flowers could have finished before it began. We could have thought “Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone got flowers when they were hurt or lonely?” and left it there. But, we didn’t. We put our thoughts into action, and we went to work. And now, more than ten years later, we’ve served hundreds of thousands of people and positively impacted many, many lives.

Everyone who has been a part of Random Acts of Flowers’ journey so far has done just that. So, thank you! Because every minute you spend volunteering, every dollar you donate, every person to whom you spread the word of delivering hope – you make kindness a verb. Through your dedication and help, we’ve turned potential kindness into kinetic kindness, and we are building momentum to do so much more in the years to come.

A professional florist will instruct participants in a hands-on demonstration
of basic floral design. Each attendee will produce a floral arrangement they may take home with them and a second arrangement that will be delivered
to an ill or elderly member of our community, adding enrichment
to RAF’s mission of delivering hope and kindness.

Coffee, water, and light appetizers will be provided.
BYOB for participants 21 and over.

When volunteer Ray Wolfe retired from teaching at Halls High School in 2015, he wanted to find an activity to stay active and be of service to others.

His wife, Kebra, was already an RAF bouquet arranger, and she enjoyed both the creativity of making the flower arrangements and the fellowship she had with her fellow volunteers. During the 2017 holidays, she invited him to join her to water poinsettias at Knoxville’s Fantasy of Trees. He had such a good time, he helped move the poinsettias to the workshop for holiday deliveries.

He was hooked. “That led to me asking if I could be of help in other areas, which led to me volunteering to transferring flowers from different locations to the RAF workshop on a weekly basis.”

In other volunteer jobs, Ray had “visited several senior citizen locations in Knoxville and other cities, I always felt that something could be done to make the lives of those living in these places more enjoyable and meaningful.” He found that “something more” at Random Acts of Flowers. “Delivering flowers is important. Not just the flowers themselves, but the interaction. It helps them realize that someone cares about them; gives them a new person with whom to share feelings, hopes, and desires; and lets them know that they are a person despite their not being able to go and do things they used to enjoy.”

And, Ray values the interactions and memories he’s making as a volunteer. “I always feel better on those days I provide service. I enjoy the interaction with the ladies at the stores where I pick up. I could get the flowers much quicker than I do, but I really enjoy getting to know each lady I visit.”

As a hobby genealogist who’s “researched my family and have names, dates and places for ten generations of the Wolfe, Yancey and Bays families,” Family brought Ray to RAF and now RAF is a part of Ray’s larger life story. But, for the people he’s met and the lives he’s touched – he’s also part of theirs. The roots of RAF run deep and the branches spread far, thanks to dedicated people like him.