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Heather Mills And Flower Enthusiasts Promote Making The World A Better Place

Copyright © 2006-2008 Wesley Berry, AAF


Okay, Heather Mills and the flower enthusiasts aren't working together toward a better world, but they do have the goal in common. Heather Mills may be well known for her marriage to Beatle Paul McCartney, but she's also spent years advocating the elimination of land mines in an effort to make the world a safer, more peaceful place. Flower enthusiasts, too, are working toward making the world a more peaceful place, but they're doing it in a much different way. Their efforts are in the form of recycling flowers that would otherwise find their way into landfills.

Whenever there's a major event, there's sure to be flowers involved. They're used to adorn tables and decorate rooms. And, in the case of funerals, families often receive so many flowers that they can't possibly bring them all home. The events are short lived, but the flowers aren't. But, what happens to those "unwanted" flowers that still have a lot of beauty left in them? Unfortunately, many of them are simply thrown away. That's why some volunteer organizations have begun to donate their time to ensure the flowers can be enjoyed by as many people as possible.

In Raleigh, North Carolina, for example, local artist Kathy Reece started the Flower Shuttle, which picks up flowers and recycles them to homeless shelters, nursing homes, and soup kitchens. Reece began the effort after reading Oprah magazine and learning about one like it in New York.

Just a short time ago a weekend black-tie event in Raleigh was cause for 380 rose and orchid centerpieces to be created. Without the Flower Shuttle, those centerpieces would have wound up in the trash. But, thanks to Reece, many volunteers began arriving just as the event was ending and began loading the flowers into vehicles. The flowers were taken to Cleveland Plant and Flower where the company allowed the Flower Shuttle to use their warehouses as a place for volunteers to rearrange the flowers and organize deliveries to places in need the next day.



Danny Hinton, manager of Cleveland Plant and Flower, said, "There were probably 2,500 roses. We got over here at quarter to one and put it all in coolers so they wouldn't blow open."

The rearranged flowers were donated to Duke Children's Hospital and Health Center, Durham VA Medical Center, and Meals on Wheels.

What a wonderful way to spread the happiness that flowers bring. Through the efforts of dedicated volunteers, the thousands of flowers used each year for special events are finding their way to places where the people who will see them could really use some extra smiles. No, it's not a charity that will garner as much press and to do as the land mine efforts of Heather Mills, but recycling flowers to make the lives of those in need just a bit brighter is surely just as noble an effort.




About The Author:
Wesley Berry is member of the American Academy of Floriculture (AAF) and President of Wesley Berry Flowers, a successful multi-million dollar floral business that was established in 1946. As a major sponsor of local-library.com and Localschoolfinder.com, Wesley Berry has worked hard on behalf of improving literacy. Visit Wesley Berry Flowers on the web at www.800wesleys.com.

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