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Wlaf1450Random Acts of Flowers expands deliveries in Campbell County
A NOTE FROM THE GRAND ON CENTRAL: “There is so much good going on in our community, and I want to share all this good with you every Monday here on WLAF in hopes that you will start your week in a grand way making each week a Grand Week,” said Olivia Lobertini, owner of The Grand on Central.
By Charlotte Underwood
LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- Random Acts of Flowers, a Knoxville nonprofit, along with a group of Campbell County citizens, delivered flowers and brightened the day on Thursday for patients at Tennova La Follette Medical Center, as well as La Follette Health & Rehabilitation Center and La Follette Court Assisted Living.
Random Acts of Flowers receives donations of flowers from grocery stores, from families at funeral homes, weddings and other events. These flowers get repurposed and volunteers of the organization and community partners go out and deliver these flowers in Knoxville and surrounding counties. Deliveries are made to nursing homes, hospitals, dialysis centers, women’s shelters, V.A. clinics, cancer centers and more, all just to “brighten days.”
Campbell County resident and former educator Carolyn Cox is who helped to bring Random Acts of Flowers and its deliveries to the area. Cox has been active in the non-profit since 2015.
Cox became involved in the program through her sister-in-law, who lives in Indiana.
“My sister-in-law’s cousin was married to one of the people in Random Acts of Flowers that used to be like the program manager and she unfortunately developed cancer and my sister-in-law went to her funeral and then they said the flowers were going to Random Acts of Flowers and I thought that is a very worthwhile thing to do,” Cox said.
She went to the non-profit in Knoxville and started out washing vases and then she went through all the training to be able to arrange the flowers, and then also was trained to do deliveries. Cox initially started with Volunteer East Tennessee, which placed her with Random Acts of Flowers doing “workshop maintenance” sweeping floors and washing vases.
Cox encouraged retired educator Linda Prim to become involved in the program and then more recently, Cox and Prim invited a representative with Random Acts of Flowers to present information on the program to a group of people which met at Hope Stand Church on June 2 to gear up for expanding deliveries here in Campbell County.
Prim, who has gotten to help with both flower arranging and delivery, said that delivering flowers to a patient and brightening their day is such a meaningful experience. Her first experience delivering flowers in Campbell County was at a Dialysis Center.
“The delivery and that joy is what it’s all about. There were three people that day that I saw that were former students, one was a nurse, one was an EMS technician who transports people to dialysis, and the third student was a patient there that day getting dialysis; it was wonderful to reconnect with some of my students,” Prim said.
According to Random Acts of Flowers Community Outreach and Program Specialist Jackie Schmitt Booth, “Random Acts of Flowers improves the emotional health and well-being of individuals in healthcare facilities by delivering recycled flowers, encouragement, and personal moments of kindness.”
“Since opening, Random Acts of Flowers Knoxville has delivered more than hundreds of thousands of bouquets to those in need of encouragement and hope. Each delivery is a reminder that kindness matters and connection heals.”
This could not have been more evident than on Thursday when 10 individuals came together to make the delivers to Tennova La Follette Medical Center, La Follette Health & Rehabilitation Center and La Follette Court Assisted Living.
Sandy Gaylor was one of the women who participated in the event and said it was “a privilege to partner with Random Acts of Flowers in the county.”
“The residents were so happy to receive the beautiful bouquets made by volunteers. Their smiles were the highlight of the day,” Gaylor said.
Teresa Marlow said the whole experience was a “blessing.”
“To see the beautiful smiles was beyond awesome. It was a blessing,” Marlow said.
History of Random Acts of Flowers
Random Acts of Flowers (RAF) began in July 2007 when the program founder, Larsen Jay, was in a near-fatal accident while working on a roof in Knoxville, Tennessee. During the incident, he fell over a ladder and suffered serious injuries. He was admitted to the University of Tennessee Medical Center’s ICU Trauma unit and underwent multiple surgeries.
While in the hospital, Larsen received tons of flower arrangements and daily visitors which helped his healing process. He noticed that many other patients had no flowers or visitors, which contrasted sharply with his own experience.
“One day, while in a wheelchair, he re-purposed one of his own floral gifts and delivered it to a fellow patient who was alone and in pain. That moment struck him as a powerful example of kindness, and he realized the potential for a similar gesture to help others and Random Acts of Flowers was born.”
His idea “grew into a mission to improve emotional health and well-being in healthcare settings by delivering recycled, repurposed flowers along with encouragement and compassion.
In 2008, Larsen formally established Random Acts of Flowers as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization Random Acts of Flowers.
Today, the nonprofit operates in multiple locations, including Knoxville; Tampa Bay; Indianapolis; and Asheville, and supports affiliates nationwide. “The organization is committed to sustainable practices, recycling 100% of floral materials and composting green waste.”
Beyond delivering flowers, the charity “emphasizes environmental sustainability.”
It recycles and reuses every part of donated arrangements — vases, ribbons, wire, foam, moss, and more —”processing more than 2,000 vases monthly to keep them out of landfills.”
Random Acts of Flowers evolved from one man’s trauma experience and his personal act of kindness to a fellow patient to become a “nationwide movement to bring flowers, hope, and human connection to those in healthcare facilities.”
“If you enjoy making someone’s day brighter, then this is a great program to participate in,” Prim said.
For more information on getting involved with Random Acts of Flowers, connect to the website or call 865.633.9082.
A NOTE FROM THE GRAND ON CENTRAL: “There is so much good going on in our community, and I want to share all this good with you every Monday here on WLAF in hopes that you will start your week in a grand way making each week a Grand Week,” said Olivia Lobertini, owner of The Grand on Central.
For bookings, email Olivia Lobertini at ohlobertini03@gmail.com. Check on avails HERE. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-06/15/2026-6AM)