Donation protected
** "Where flowers bloom, so does hope." - Lady Bird Johnson **
Salutations, friends, neighbors, and new online acquaintances:
Here in Seattle, we're entering our third month of isolation/shelter-in-place. And if my personal network's social media posts are any indication, I'm not alone in feeling overwhelmed by the gloomy funk of this unprecedented inside time and lack of connection.
However, I doubt many of y'all had a mental breakdown where you found yourself sobbing on the couch, and when your husband asked you what he could do to help, you likely didn't berate him for not pre-knowing you'd be having a crud day and ordering you flowers in advance of said unanticipated mental breakdown. Marriage, y'all. One out of one of my husbands would sort of recommend it ;) That nonsense aside, the incident got me thinking about how much fresh flowers truly bring me bunches of joy. That was Incident #1. Incident #2 was when, during a phone chat later that same day, a close friend told me about her beloved grandfather who is struggling to find moments of cheer in his care facility as it confronts this pandemic.
Without filling you in on every hippity hop of my mind's rabbit trail through this thought process, I'll skip to the pertinent part: I'd very much like to send flowers to as many of our area's nursing home/care facility senior care residents as possible. And I will be purchasing the flowers from our region's iconic and COVID-impacted Hmong flower growers, as they're not able to set up their usual stalls at the temporarily shuttered Pike Place Market.
Originally, my plan was just to spend my own stimulus check on this project, and as such, I am setting that as the "goal" of this campaign. While I'll genuinely be satisfied (nay, thrilled!) if all I do is use my own stimulus check to purchase bouquets for each of the residents of just one facility, a few friends expressed interest in contributing to the effort, so I am setting up this GoFundMe account as the financial center for any additional funds.
In other words, the more of y'all that want to come into this floral fold, the more residents who will get a bunch of joy to tell them that their buds on the outside are rooting for them!
Now, for the details:
* A medium-sized seasonal floral bouquet with greenery is $25. (Peonies are currently in season and will be the focal point of the bouquets at this time.)
* The receiving facility will be Aegis Living in West Seattle, as it's one I'd typically drive by almost daily pre-pandemic.
* In addition to medium-sized bouquets for each resident, I intend on purchasing multiple large bouquets ($40 each) for the staff to thank them for their essential and heroic services during this time.
* Each bouquet will include a hand-written note of encouragement. If you donate, please feel free to submit a message (whether it be a personal note from you, a poem or quote, etc.), and it will be the message for one of the bouquets (or however many bouquets you donated to purchase.)
* As long as there are funds, I will HAPPILY repeat this process with as many care facilities as possible. If we miraculously have enough funds to repeat the process with more centers, I will happily consider Seattle-area recommendations.
* I've been in touch with the events director at Aegis Living regarding their safety/health protocols and will act in strict accordance with their guidelines when delivering flowers and writing notes.
* Additionally, I reached out to the Hmong Association of Washington and have since discussed how to order and receive floral shipments in a way that financially benefits the local growers most in need of the funds and in a manner that is safe for both the growers and the recipients.
* I will document and share receipt of said purchase from growers to ensure accountability for all funds donated to this effort. Any funds remaining after floral purchased will be donated directly to impacted flower growers via the Hmong Association of Washington.
*****
According to GoFundMe, it's essential that I cover some of the basics, so I'll do so here:
Who This Campaign Will Benefit:
1. Seattle-area seniors still in isolation/shelter-in-place in their care facilities, nursing homes, or assisted living residences.
2. Pike Place's iconic Hmong flower growers
What Donated Funds Will Be Used For:
All funds will be given to Hmong florists via the Hmong Association of Washington to purchase flowers.
Explain When Funds Will Be Used:
I am planning on delivering the first batch no later than June 1, in accordance with the proposed timeline given by the Hmong Association. If we raise enough funds to repeat the process, new delivery dates will be given.
What Does Any Support Mean To You:
In these wonky times, I've been surrounded by my obvious privilege, as neither my husband or I are essential workers and can easily work from home. We don't have children to educate. We don't have any family members suffering from COVID. We're financially stable for now. But it's still been mentally draining. I can't imagine what it'd be like to be in isolation in an impacted community most at risk without the ability to see my loved ones. I can't do a lot right now. Maybe you feel the same way. But I can send flowers. So, you know, why not do it? It's *literally* the least I can do right now (besides staying inside and wearing my mask.)
Share How Grateful You Will Be For Help:
Truly, this is not intended to be a guilt trip. If you are able to donate to this effort and feel that doing so would infuse some extra joy in your own life, I would love to deliver some flowers on your behalf. If this isn't something you're able to do now or if you feel your funds would be better served being donated elsewhere, I want you to follow that gut feeling. This is something extra you can do IF you are able and it's your thing. There's no hard sell here, folks. But each and every cent received will be genuinely and truly appreciated and will result in you seeing pictures of the pretty flowers.
*****
And that's it, folks. That's my spiel. Be well.
“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly our whole life would change.” – Buddha
Salutations, friends, neighbors, and new online acquaintances:
Here in Seattle, we're entering our third month of isolation/shelter-in-place. And if my personal network's social media posts are any indication, I'm not alone in feeling overwhelmed by the gloomy funk of this unprecedented inside time and lack of connection.
However, I doubt many of y'all had a mental breakdown where you found yourself sobbing on the couch, and when your husband asked you what he could do to help, you likely didn't berate him for not pre-knowing you'd be having a crud day and ordering you flowers in advance of said unanticipated mental breakdown. Marriage, y'all. One out of one of my husbands would sort of recommend it ;) That nonsense aside, the incident got me thinking about how much fresh flowers truly bring me bunches of joy. That was Incident #1. Incident #2 was when, during a phone chat later that same day, a close friend told me about her beloved grandfather who is struggling to find moments of cheer in his care facility as it confronts this pandemic.
Without filling you in on every hippity hop of my mind's rabbit trail through this thought process, I'll skip to the pertinent part: I'd very much like to send flowers to as many of our area's nursing home/care facility senior care residents as possible. And I will be purchasing the flowers from our region's iconic and COVID-impacted Hmong flower growers, as they're not able to set up their usual stalls at the temporarily shuttered Pike Place Market.
Originally, my plan was just to spend my own stimulus check on this project, and as such, I am setting that as the "goal" of this campaign. While I'll genuinely be satisfied (nay, thrilled!) if all I do is use my own stimulus check to purchase bouquets for each of the residents of just one facility, a few friends expressed interest in contributing to the effort, so I am setting up this GoFundMe account as the financial center for any additional funds.
In other words, the more of y'all that want to come into this floral fold, the more residents who will get a bunch of joy to tell them that their buds on the outside are rooting for them!
Now, for the details:
* A medium-sized seasonal floral bouquet with greenery is $25. (Peonies are currently in season and will be the focal point of the bouquets at this time.)
* The receiving facility will be Aegis Living in West Seattle, as it's one I'd typically drive by almost daily pre-pandemic.
* In addition to medium-sized bouquets for each resident, I intend on purchasing multiple large bouquets ($40 each) for the staff to thank them for their essential and heroic services during this time.
* Each bouquet will include a hand-written note of encouragement. If you donate, please feel free to submit a message (whether it be a personal note from you, a poem or quote, etc.), and it will be the message for one of the bouquets (or however many bouquets you donated to purchase.)
* As long as there are funds, I will HAPPILY repeat this process with as many care facilities as possible. If we miraculously have enough funds to repeat the process with more centers, I will happily consider Seattle-area recommendations.
* I've been in touch with the events director at Aegis Living regarding their safety/health protocols and will act in strict accordance with their guidelines when delivering flowers and writing notes.
* Additionally, I reached out to the Hmong Association of Washington and have since discussed how to order and receive floral shipments in a way that financially benefits the local growers most in need of the funds and in a manner that is safe for both the growers and the recipients.
* I will document and share receipt of said purchase from growers to ensure accountability for all funds donated to this effort. Any funds remaining after floral purchased will be donated directly to impacted flower growers via the Hmong Association of Washington.
*****
According to GoFundMe, it's essential that I cover some of the basics, so I'll do so here:
Who This Campaign Will Benefit:
1. Seattle-area seniors still in isolation/shelter-in-place in their care facilities, nursing homes, or assisted living residences.
2. Pike Place's iconic Hmong flower growers
What Donated Funds Will Be Used For:
All funds will be given to Hmong florists via the Hmong Association of Washington to purchase flowers.
Explain When Funds Will Be Used:
I am planning on delivering the first batch no later than June 1, in accordance with the proposed timeline given by the Hmong Association. If we raise enough funds to repeat the process, new delivery dates will be given.
What Does Any Support Mean To You:
In these wonky times, I've been surrounded by my obvious privilege, as neither my husband or I are essential workers and can easily work from home. We don't have children to educate. We don't have any family members suffering from COVID. We're financially stable for now. But it's still been mentally draining. I can't imagine what it'd be like to be in isolation in an impacted community most at risk without the ability to see my loved ones. I can't do a lot right now. Maybe you feel the same way. But I can send flowers. So, you know, why not do it? It's *literally* the least I can do right now (besides staying inside and wearing my mask.)
Share How Grateful You Will Be For Help:
Truly, this is not intended to be a guilt trip. If you are able to donate to this effort and feel that doing so would infuse some extra joy in your own life, I would love to deliver some flowers on your behalf. If this isn't something you're able to do now or if you feel your funds would be better served being donated elsewhere, I want you to follow that gut feeling. This is something extra you can do IF you are able and it's your thing. There's no hard sell here, folks. But each and every cent received will be genuinely and truly appreciated and will result in you seeing pictures of the pretty flowers.
*****
And that's it, folks. That's my spiel. Be well.
“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly our whole life would change.” – Buddha
Organizer and beneficiary
Bekah Sandy
Organizer
Seattle, WA
Christian Sandy
Beneficiary