RAF Tampa Bay IN BLOOM Newsletter – Summer 2018

IN BLOOM NEWSLETTER
Summer 2018

As we send this newsletter, we’re thinking about what a busy summer we’ve had (touching nearly 3,900 recipients’ lives since the beginning of June) and how much we have in store for us as the weather cools down. We hope that your summer has been full of giving, fun, and adventure, too!

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to show you some of the amazing things we’ve been able to do over the past few months and to introduce you to a few of the incredible people who make it all possible.

And, thank you for your continued support of our mission!

Sincerely,
Janette and Monica

SUPPORT DELIVERING HOPE WITH A DONATION

UPCOMING EVENTS AT RAF TAMPA BAY!

Thursday, September 13, 2018
6-8pm

564 Frederica Lane, Suite A
Dunedin, FL 34698

$35 ticket price includes container, flowers, and instruction on floral arranging.

A professional florist will instruct participants in a hands-on demonstration of basic floral design. Each attendee will produce a floral arrangement they will take 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 those 21 and over.

Get Your Flowers After Hours Tickets Today!

Get Your Tickets and Get Tubular with Us!

PAUL NITCHKEY:
HONORING FAMILY BY DELIVERING HOPE

Paul Nitchkey hasn’t been a volunteer at RAF Tampa Bay for long, but in the four months he’s worked with us, he’s become an invaluable resource and amazing advocate for delivering hope. For him, “the chance to give back and deliver flowers to those in hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities” was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.And, as is true for so many of our volunteers and supporters, the RAF mission has a personal connection for Paul –

“Both my mother and mother-in-law enjoyed flowers. My mother’s favorites were the red roses that we grew in our backyard. And, I loved to surprise my mother-in-law with flowers when she least expected it. She passed away last December and it left a little hole in my heart. That’s when I looked into Random Acts of Flowers, becoming a volunteer after I retired in April.”

He knows that “it may seem like a little gesture with flowers, but for those who receive them, it could very well be the highlight of their day or maybe their stay in a facility. When any recipient looks up, delighted, and says ‘these are for me?’ – that’s the highlight of my day!”

REMEMBERING FAMILY AND GIVING BACK

David Crumley, a local realtor, has served on our Board of Directors since last spring, and – while his job is fulfilling to him professionally, he loves helping to provide “a completely unexpected act of kindness that brightens the day of someone who is in need” as part of the leadership team.

For him, the people in need who touch his heart the most are those in the memory care facilities we serve because of his close connection with his grandmother –“My grandmother passed many years ago and had endured dementia in the later stage of her life. Although my grandfather had passed before her onset of dementia, she believed he was still alive. She would complain that he was working so hard that he would be off to work before she woke up and didn’t come home until she had fallen asleep. If she had been delivered a bouquet of flowers as we do through RAF she would have insisted that my grandfather had sent them and that would have made her day.”

David is dedicated to delivering hope because our mission “reminds us that we’re all connected and that a simple gesture of giving can create happiness and increase the well-being of others.” But, his giving back to the community doesn’t stop with us. He is active in several other charitable organizations locally, and if you can’t find him working or donating his time, you’ll probably find him at one of the many theme parks for which Florida is famous.

Also, when we spoke to David emphasized to us his gratitude to the volunteers who serve with us every day – “I’d like to thank all of the volunteers, without whom none of this would be possible. We are improving people’s lives and that is a wonderful thing.”

THE BIG IMPACT OF THE LITTLE THINGS

Publix Super Markets has been a supporter of RAF Tampa Bay for about five years, providing financial support and a strong floral partnership that are vital to us and also provides a service and value to them. We spoke with their representative Brian West, and he explained that working with RAF is “a great opportunity for a retailer to donate something that can be meaningful and useful to others, instead of putting it into the landfill.”

RAF’s mission links up with the Publix corporate values because “our Associates are involved as responsible citizens in the communities we serve, working with a variety of organizations that make a difference. Random Acts of Flowers is one of the organizations we support because of the impact they have on individuals, delivering joy along with the bouquets.”