Random Acts of Flowers Chicago Delivers to 600 Local Veterans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RANDOM ACTS OF FLOWERS (RAF) CHICAGO DELIVERS 600 “THANK YOU” BOUQUETS TO CHICAGO AREA VETERANS

Local Veteran-Owned Businesses and Suburban Companies Step Up to Deliver to Jesse Brown VA Hospital and other VA Hospitals and Medical Facilities

November 16, 2016 -- In an unprecedented delivery, Random Acts of Flowers Chicago (RAF Chicago) recently joined forces with Veteran-owned businesses and companies to deliver 600 bouquets to local veteran’s medical hospitals and clinics, including Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago. The non-profit organization, which recycles flowers and delivers them to individuals in healthcare facilities, delivered to three VA hospitals and countless medical clinics throughout Chicago and Lake County. Additional supporters of RAF Chicago’s Veteran’s Day deliveries included Alternative Staffing, Inc., Advocate Condell, UL and FTD-Pro Flowers. Melissa Stockwell, a former Army veteran who lost her leg in Iraq and went on to win a Bronze Medal at the Paralympics in Rio, accompanied RAF Chicago on the delivery. She represented Dare2tri, an organization that impacts the lives of athletes with physical disabilities and visual impairments by developing their skills in Paratriathlons.

Since January 2015, RAF Chicago has delivered bouquets to 40,000 individuals in 157 healthcare facilities – hospitals, nursing homes, hospice and rehab centers and VA medical facilities. Flowers are donated by grocery stores, retail and wholesale florists, weddings, funerals and galas.

“It was so heartwarming to see how appreciative the veterans were to be greeted by a beautiful bouquet and Melissa, a young war hero and Olympic Bronze Medal winner -- who seemed to have an unspoken bond with the patients we visited at Jesse Brown,” said Joanie Bayhack (Wilmette,) Executive Director of Random Acts of Flowers Chicago. “The delivery, like so many others, was life-changing for all of us,” she added.

Joanie was accompanied by Glencoe’s Lori Muller of The Muller Auto Group. A RAF Chicago volunteer and Board member, Lori is a tireless advocate for veterans and north shore seniors who deserve a surprise bouquet and moments of kindness, compassion and connection the most.

About RAF Chicago

Random Acts of Flowers Chicago improves the emotional health and well-being of individuals in health care facilities by delivering recycled flowers, encouragement and personal moments of kindness. For more information, go to www.rafchicago.org.

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Random Acts of Flowers Chicago -- 2000 Greenleaf Avenue, Evanston, IL. 60202 – 847-430-4157 www.rafchicago.org.

[CONTACT: Sydney Werd, RAF Chicago at sydney@rafchicago.org or 847-430-4157]