After cancelling their annual flower delivery in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Blooms into Rooms project is back at it again, albeit in a smaller way in 2021.
On Easter Saturday, April 3, volunteers will deliver 500 flowers to seniors residences in Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, Port Coquitlam, and Port Moody. Organizer Terry O’Neill said the goal “is to brighten the day for seniors, showing them that they are cared for and that their lives are important.”
Blooms into Rooms sprung up about 25 years ago at St. Joseph’s Parish in Port Moody. In 2019, 100 volunteers from various nearby parishes delivered 1,200 African violets and handmade greeting cards to seniors in a dozen care facilities.
This year, a much smaller number of volunteers will deliver flowers to a residence official at the front doors of each home, and leave it to them to decide whether to distribute the blooms to individual rooms or display them in common areas.
Parishes involved this year include St. Joseph’s in Port Moody, St. Clare of Assisi and All Saints in Coquitlam, Our Lady of Assumption in Coquitlam, and St. Patrick’s and St. Luke’s in Maple Ridge.
Long-time supporter Wim Vander Zalm, president of Art Knapp garden centre, and an anonymous donor are covering the costs of the flowers.