CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Elizabeth Darke, the founder of the Bloom Project, doesn’t intend change the world with flowers. Her goal is just to spread smiles and kindness to the Clarksville community.
The Bloom Project is a nonprofit organization that repurposes flowers from weddings and events and then sends the bouquets to places that could use some cheering up.
“It really is just a sweet exchange to be able to take some unexpected gift of flowers to someone to brighten their day. There’s no other purpose, no other anything other than we just want to bring a little bit of joy,” Darke told Clarksville Now.
Flowers from weddings, church services
The Bloom Project has sent over 800 flower arrangements to senior communities, health agencies and Hospice organizations since it officially began operating in June 2022 after test runs in May.
Darke found inspiration from a church she attended in Chattanooga – Signal Crest United Methodist. The church repurposed their altar flowers every Sunday and delivered them to homebound members.
“At the time I had not heard of anyone who was doing it with wedding services, and in my mind, it was kind of a small thing,” Darke said.
The idea to rearrange wedding and event flowers into bouquets came from Stephanie Simpson, founder of 901 POP in Memphis and an acquaintance Darke met in college. “That was the first time I had seen anybody do it with wedding or event flowers in a larger scale,” she said.
Darke later learned that people all over the country have been repurposing flowers for a long time, and she decided to do the same in Clarksville.
“It’s so simple. It’s not going to change the world or anything like that, but it just might change somebody’s day. And so that is enough, I hope, to put a smile on someone’s face,” Darke said.
How to get involved
The Bloom Project runs entirely off donations and volunteers.
“Right now, we have about 25 volunteers, but there is always room for more,” she said. Volunteers arrange flowers, clean workstations, organize donations and deliver bouquets.
To volunteer, email bloomprojectclarksville@gmail.com, or contact The Bloom Project on Facebook messenger.
For those unable to volunteer, there is an Amazon wish list posted on their Facebook and Instagram pages, with note cards, markers, vases and flowers being the most important items.
HOW TO HELP: For more information on local charities, go to #ClarksvilleStrong.