A group of women went about their work quietly Monday, in the spacious confines of the lower level of the Amvets building in Wheeling. Having just received a large delivery of fresh flowers from a wedding at the Field Museum on Saturday, they set about separating the stems and creating new bouquets, surrounded in tissue paper and ribbon.
Co-founder Ellen Mink with a new bouquet
That same day, they delivered them to nearby Addolorata Villa, a senior living and memory care facility in Wheeling, for the residents and staff, and for its chapel.
The women volunteer for the organization Inspire Through Flowers, whose mission is to inspire joy, connection and community through the gift of beautiful flowers.
Ellen Mink of Northbrook was one of the founders of the organization. It formed in late 2020, after a similar organization, Random Acts of Flowers, disbanded.
Since then, Inspire Through Flowers has grown to include two locations — one in Wheeling and one in Evanston — drawing more than 130 active volunteers, as well as a strong group of floral donors and enthusiastic community support.
They recently reached 42,000 bouquets delivered, including to patients and staff in local hospitals, nursing homes and veteran facilities, as well as to other community groups such as police and firefighters, faculty and staff at local schools, refugees, and to women and children in shelters.
They regularly donate small bouquets in mason jars to Meals on Wheels recipients in Evanston and Wheeling Townships.
“The idea came to me after my mother passed away,” Mink says. “She loved flowers and I thought, ‘How can we give back?’ ”
During the pandemic, Mink set up tables outdoors on her driveway for volunteers to repurpose flowers. And they haven’t looked back, she says.
“If we can go somewhere and see that somebody working is enjoying our flowers,” Mink says, “how great is that?”
Her volunteers agreed. Most have not had formal training in flower arranging, but they eagerly don aprons and grab cutting utensils every week to fashion individual bouquets.
Adrienne Zabin of Northbrook retired from her role in corporate marketing and read about Inspire Through Flowers online.
“I like the creativity and the group is fabulous,” Zabin says. “They come from all different corporate backgrounds and have different skillsets, but we are all in it together to give back to someone.”
Another volunteer, Charmaine Grippo of Mount Prospect, learned about the group and its need for volunteers from a local garden club.
“You learn as you go,” Grippo says, “but I just love the concept of inspiring joy by giving flowers to someone.”
Linda Oishi of Glenview is one of the few volunteers with a background in floral arranging, and she eagerly shares her know-how with others.
Pinky Bahceci arranges a bouquet.
“As soon as I started, I was hooked,” Oishi says. “Plus, the spirit of what we’re trying to do is amazing.”
Organizers point out that they are environmentally friendly. Not only are they keeping flowers that otherwise would be thrown into a landfill, but they collect all cut-away stems and blooms and compile them as compost. In fact, while they have created more than 42,000 bouquets, Mink estimates they have donated more than 40,000 gallons of compost.
Nothing, they say, goes to waste.
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