After weddings and other large events, a Brooklyn nonprofit has been extending the lifecycle of flowers and repurposing them for the most isolated members of the community.
Since 2015, BloomAgainBklyn has cleaned and bundled donated flowers into bouquets for residents at senior centers and homeless shelters, as well as low- and middle-income students who live across the borough.
Last month, after a wedding took over the streets of lower Manhattan, BloomAgainBklyn was there to collect the floral leftovers. The hundreds of brightly colored flowers were given a fresh chop and checked for dead leaves at Christ Church in Cobble Hill. Then, they were taken to the YWCA in Boerum Hill to brighten the residents’ days.
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Founder Caroline Anderson said she’s always had an eye for beauty and a passion for community.
“Some people gather around food, my family gathered around flowers,” she said.
She remembers flowers at every family event, whether it was joyous or somber, that passion followed her into adult life.
Anderson first conceptualized BloomAgainBklyn during her time as a gallery owner. After helping Brooklyn Artist Ken Rush stage an urbanscape pop-up exhibit in May of 2011, she realized the project left thousands of opalia roses behind.
“At the end of the show, what do you do with the flowers?” she asked. “You give them away, or you put them in a solid waste tube. I really wanted to be [able] to do something more sustainable.”
Now, BloomAgainBklyn conducts “floral rescues” all over the city about once every two weeks––bringing joy and community to partner nonprofits like SAGE and RAICES (Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services).
Shimonah Israel, a BloomAgainBklyn board member, manages a community partnership called Flowers and Finance, which provides financial literacy workshops for older adults.
Israel recalled partnering with the Bergen House Senior Transitional Residence, which houses men over the age of 62. She first visited as a social services worker a few years ago and noted the cold, institutional feel. When the residents received flowers, some were shocked and others cried.
“I’m a firm believer in celebrating people in real time,” she said. “Giving someone their flowers while they’re here to smell them.”
In the last year, BloomAgainBklyn’s volunteer roster has ballooned. Their mailing list currently sits at 4,000 people, with most events capped at 25-30 participants.
“It’s a hot ticket,” said Operations Manager AJ Jonakait about the volunteer slots.
This is partially thanks to social media. Jonakait and Corporate Workshops Coordinator Lesley Chan say that content from BloomAgainBklyn has gone viral on TikTok and the Chinese app Rednote.
“We’re not in charge of the posts,” said Chan, “[Some people] see us as a flower arrangement class, which we’re not.”
Still, BloomAgainBklyn has found a solid support base. Both Chan and Jonakait were volunteers before joining the organization as staff members. They also say the nonprofit has developed longstanding partnerships with schools, including P.S. 307, through their Agents of Change program, which conducts floral arrangement workshops with students. Using a “make one, take one” model, the students are encouraged to give a bouquet to a member of their community who could use some joy.
Anderson believes that the sense of fellowship is particularly in demand. “Everybody's looking for kindness right now,” she said. “We started in the last administration. I think one of the reasons that we were so popular was because we needed a kinder way to give back and a kinder way to connect with each other.”
