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02/04/2019

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Random Act of Kindness Day With Random Acts of Flowers

February 17, 2019 marks the first Random Acts of Kindness Day! The once weeklong celebration got us thinking about great ideas for sharing random acts of kindness in the community. Here’s a profile about a wonderful organization in Knoxville, Tennessee, that does that every day: Random Acts of Flowers. A group of TeamHealth associates got together with Random Acts of Flowers to make a difference in someone’s day.

At the beginning of 2018, members of TeamHealth’s compliance department sat down as a group and asked, “What makes a work place a place you want to work?” Their answer was, “A place that gives back.” So once a quarter, members of the compliance department decided to volunteer within the Knoxville community.

Most recently, several of TeamHealth’s compliance department associates completed a Corporate Days of Service at Random Acts of Flowers (RAF). “Corporate Days of Service are an excellent opportunity for businesses and corporate groups to give back to their community in a unique and meaningful way,” Mandie Beeler, Executive Director of RAF Knoxville, told us. “Individuals and teams who might not otherwise have the chance to engage in our mission are able to participate in a customized, hands-on experience crafted just for their group. The participants walk away from the activity having gained a fun, new skill in floral arranging and the knowledge that their donated bouquet will go directly to someone in a healthcare facility dealing with injury, illness, or the aging process.”

Random Acts of Flowers’ mission is simple: to improve the emotional health and well-being of individuals in healthcare facilities by delivering recycled flowers and personal moments of kindness and encouragement.

TeamHealth Chief Compliance Officer, Jennifer Morrison and her team felt RAF was the perfect organization to kick start their team philanthropy since it so deeply touches the healthcare system. By using usable and unsellable flowers from grocery stores, wholesale florists, floral distributors, weddings, events, farms, and memorials donated to RAF, eleven TeamHealth associates were able to create 32 custom bouquet arrangements that a final group of RAF volunteers would hand-deliver to unsuspecting people at a nursing facility.

While working at a hospital where RAF delivered the flowers, TeamHealth Compliance Analyst, Scott Bircheat, observed the end result firsthand and described his experience. “It’s a big cart of cheer coming into the hospital. You see all the color coming down the halls, and all the smiles it creates. You could tell it was mentally beneficial for everyone.”

Share your Random Act of Kindness with us on social media using #RAKDay!

#KINDNESSSTARTSWITHONE