NONPROFIT
By Kristin Tuttle | Photos by Whitney Mabie Photography
Grateful Vase Helps Smiles Blossom on Senior Care Residents’ Faces
Serving the Northwest Arkansas and Springfield, Missouri, areas is a nonprofit committed to spreading joy in long-term care facilities with beautifully repurposed flower arrangements.
During her time in high school and while at the University of Arkansas, Lindsey Curry had three of her four grandparents spend time in long-term care facilities toward the end of their lives. She had built close relationships with them as a child through the great adventures they took her on and the memories they left her with, she said. “I saw firsthand that the environment in long-term care facilities can often be lonely.”
Curry launched Grateful Vase in June 2024 shortly after inspiration struck while assisting a photo shoot for Tesori Bridal, which her sister co-owns. A friend’s grandmother had recently moved into a nursing home next to the photo shoot’s location, and the flowers needed a new home. Unwilling to let the flowers’ beauty go to waste, Curry called the facility, which was overjoyed by the donation.
Delivering those flowers was the first time Curry had stepped foot in a nursing home since her grandparents passed. “It was almost like a healing experience, and such a ‘this clicked’ moment. Like, ‘Why is this not a thing? This should be a thing,’” Curry said.
Since the nonprofit’s beginning, Curry and her volunteer-led team have recycled flowers from approximately 100 weddings across the region they serve. The volunteers, some based in Missouri and others based in Northwest Arkansas, make up the night crew or the morning crew. After an event is over, the night crew loads the donated flowers from the venues and takes them back to a rented workspace to trim the stems and rehydrate the flowers overnight. The morning crew then rearranges the refreshed flowers and delivers them to the awaiting facilities.
Photo by Tiffany Enowski
Depending on the size of the floral donation, Grateful Vase creates arrangements for each resident’s room as well as common spaces so that everyone living or working in the facility can experience the delight the flowers bring.
The seniors often greet the delivery team with surprise and big smiles. “It’s just so sweet, because what I’ve heard from the employees is that it really sparks conversation between the residents,” Curry said.
One senior resident has even raced down the hall with her walker to claim her favorite arrangement for her room.
The atmosphere in long-term care facilities can become monotonous, Curry said, and these flower arrangements not only boost the mood of the residents but also the staff who are working in the same environment, by reminding them they are cared for by the community. “It’s often a place that just sort of gets forgotten, and there’s so many different long-term care facilities in the area. I really don’t think a lot of people understand how many there are.
“It’s nice to give some of these residents an opportunity to feel loved who might not get a visitor very often, or their family members might not even live in the same town, or they’ve lost a spouse,” she said. “So, it’s just nice to make people feel loved.”
Right now, the organization is spreading out deliveries across all long-term care facilities in Northwest Arkansas due to the limited supply of donated flowers. Looking toward the future, Curry said she would love to eventually have a brick-and-mortar location in Northwest Arkansas and a consistent stock of flowers from events or partnered flower farms so that these deliveries aren’t a surprise every time.
“I would just like to see that grow, where we can build relationships with those residents so they know who we are when we walk in the door,” Curry said, “because I really feel like that consistent connection and thoughtfulness goes a long way in those facilities.”
The Grateful Vase team takes January off to rest and prepare for the year ahead but will be ready to revamp donated flowers starting in February. Curry urges those interested in donating their event flowers to fill out the form on the organization’s website as soon as a date is known to ensure volunteers can be available. The organization also accepts volunteer applications and monetary donations for anyone looking for other ways to support the mission.