Keepers of Kindness: Supporting families through local Children's Hospital

Written by Growing Kindness Ambassador Leahy Meyring

2022 Growing Kindness Project Ambassador Jenn Koym of Fern Creek Florals has a unique insight into the needs of families with children in hospital care. Her own experience of having a child who needed hospital care led Jenn to a unique way of sharing flowers in her community. Her story serves as a reminder that our life experiences often help us to see needs in our community that others may not see.

Jenn’s journey to sharing flowers began far from her home in Virginia. When her daughter needed heart surgery in Boston, the hospital did not have housing available for their family. Hospitality Homes in Boston connected Jenn’s family with a host family in the area, allowing them to stay close to their daughter while she was in the hospital. When Jenn’s family returned home to Charlottesville, VA, Jenn saw the same need there. Families were having to sleep in their cars because there wasn’t enough patient housing available. This prompted her to start a non-profit organization called Lily Pads Housing in Charlottesville, Virginia. Lily Pads connects people who have space in their homes or rental properties with families who have children in the pediatric hospital. 

During the Covid-19 pandemic Jenn was unable to meet Lily Pads families in the hospital as she had prior to the pandemic. Her one connection with the families was when she met them outside the hospital with a bouquet of flowers from her garden. The feedback was overwhelming. The families spoke of how healing it was to have flowers in the hospital rooms or where they were staying. Jenn saw how meaningful the flowers were to the families and wanted to expand her giving beyond the families she knew through Lily Pads Housing. She decided to deliver flowers to the pediatric hospital weekly so that the volunteer services department of the hospital could deliver them to families with children in the hospital. “Our family spent a lot of time in the hospital because our daughter had a heart defect and I know how special it is to get those little random acts of kindness and those little gestures. It means the world when you’re going through a really difficult time. I just wanted to pay it forward,” she shared.

Jenn knew she’d need help if she was going to share bouquets weekly. Thankfully Charlottesville has an active gardening group on Facebook. Jenn reached out to this group, explained that she was a Growing Kindness Project Ambassador and her vision. She asked for volunteers who would be willing to help her and experienced a wonderful outpouring of donations of both vases and flowers. She now volunteers who wash and drop off vases at her house. Another group drops off flowers from their gardens on Sunday. On Monday an additional group of volunteers gathers on her porch to arrange the flowers in vases and then loads up the flowers in Jenn’s car. She then drops them off with the volunteer services department at the pediatric hospital. Almost every hospital has a volunteer services department and Jenn recommends contacting them prior to arriving at a hospital with flowers. Each week her team of volunteers donates between 10 and 30 arrangements to their local pediatrics hospital, depending on how many flowers are available. 

It can feel overwhelming, Jenn noted, to harvest, arrange and deliver flowers all in one day, but breaking up the process has made it manageable. “It helps having a team that comes to you and having other local gardeners who enjoy helping,” she said. Jenn found that the connection that has developed is two-fold. There is a connection with the families that receive the flowers, but there is also connection with the people who pull together to make the bouquets. The volunteers arranging flowers also get to share and enrich their own gardening knowledge. “It becomes an educational experience as well. It’s a nice time for people who have grown flowers to share their tips about plants. It’s a way to connect with people who have a love and passion for growing flowers and serving in the community,” she shared.

Creating connections is a high priority for Jenn and she has found the Growing Kindness Project to be a very supportive community. “It’s great to be able to ask questions and it’s been so nice to be able to troubleshoot with other people and have access to people who are growing on a larger scale and who have more experience. Through the Ambassador program and the quarterly get-togethers I’ve created some really strong friends who I call or FaceTime with when I have an issue in the garden or I need to troubleshoot something. A lot of this is very new to me, scaling up and growing flowers en masse. Having this organization supporting you 100% of the way  to help you be successful is amazing. I’m doing this on a very small scale, but when you connect it with all these other people across the world that are doing this too, it’s this huge ripple effect that is really phenomenal when you think about it.” Jenn really encourages anyone thinking about becoming a part of the Growing Kindness Project to join and benefit from the support provided by the Growing Kindness Project community in growing and sharing flowers. As a Growing Kindness Project Ambassador, she participates in Ambassador meetings.  She shared, “It’s been such a wonderful thing to connect with this organization and be an Ambassador this year. And I cry every meeting when I hear the stories of people seeing the needs in their community and are filling it. It’s so beautiful,” 

Growing Kindness Project founder Deanna Kitchen encourages people with these words: “Your vision of the ways you can impact your community is powerful. Hold tight to that because not everybody sees what you see. Reach out and ask people to come alongside you. We’re so much better together.” Jenn’s story of sharing flowers in her community is an example of those principles in action.

**We’re deeply grateful to GK Ambassador Alumni, Leah Meyring for writing this article, based on a live interview with GK founder, Deanna Kitchen and Jen. If you’d like, you can view the recording of the full interview here.

Keepers of Kindness: Healing through flowers and kindness

When Ganjana was a young teenager, she immigrated to the US from Thailand with her twin sister so they could be near their mother who had to relocate to receive treatment for cancer.  When their mother suddenly passed away, Ganjana and her sister were essentially on their own to care for each other as orphans and immigrants. After a childhood of trauma and the loss of her mother, then suddenly being catapulted into adulthood in a foreign country, Ganjana began struggling with what would later become debilitating anxiety. 

Years and years later, Ganjana was volunteering at her local food bank where she was also a client.  It was the Holiday distribution when, along with the standard weekly provisions, recipients are also given all the trimmings for a holiday meal.  When she finished her volunteer shift helping to stock shelves and took her turn to collect her own groceries, she was handed a floral holiday centerpiece. It moved her to tears.  She later shared that she stood in disbelief and asked herself, “Who does this?  Who gives flowers like this? I have to meet this person.  I have to be involved with this.”

Because the centerpieces included the Growing Kindness bouquet tag, she was able to look up the project and signed up to be a member right away.  Ganjana planted her first flower garden that spring.  The GK project was beside her, step by step, to help her learn to grow, harvest and design flowers.  With flowers in hand, Ganjana began slowly, bravely reaching out in her community.  Stem by stem, growing and giving flowers brought healing and gave her a tool and mission that helped her not only connect in her community but is helping her overcome anxiety.

Ganjana, planting her first Growing Kindness garden.

The next year, Ganjana later applied and was accepted as a 2021 Ambassador.  Being a part of the team brought her into even more community, connection and support.  Ganjana made friends with members across the world including Sally, from England, who is now her best friend. 

Ganjana is currently an Ambassador Alumni and continues to grow and share flowers in her community and build connections and friendships through the GK team.

In addition to gifting flowers with neighbors and community members who are going through difficult times, Ganjana also now donates flowers to the Stanwood Camano Food bank where she first received flowers in kindness.

Ganjana’s example and story beautifully illustrates that we truly have no idea how a single act of kindness can change a life. Likewise, we can never underestimate the power of having a purpose and a sense of belonging.

Our mission, as an organization, is to bring this same kindness, hope, and belonging to all of our team members as we empower them to grow and give flowers in their neighborhoods and communities all across the world.

““Because of the Growing Kindness Project, I’m not just surviving-
I’m thriving.
It’s healing my heart.””
— -Ganjana

Keepers of Kindness: Supporting Foster Families with Flowers

Chelsea Willis, a 2022 Growing Kindness Project Ambassador from Oregon, was drawn to the Growing Kindness Project because it was heart-driven. She first encountered the Growing Kindness Project in mid-2020 on Instagram, when, she noted, “there was a lot of time to scroll.” After following the project for a while and receiving the weekly Words of Kindness emails, she knew she wanted to get involved. “It felt so in line with how I feel about farming and flowers,” Chelsea said.

Chelsea owns and operates Sweet Delilah Farm on Sauvie Island, near Portland, Oregon. Currently in her sixth season of flower farming, Chelsea’s background in social work opened up a unique opportunity to spread kindness in her community. A friend of hers reached out about an event her local Boys and Girls Club was organizing for foster families. They wanted a way for families to make bouquets together to take home. Chelsea donated 300 stems for the bouquets from her flower farm, Sweet Delilah Farm.

Even though the event for foster families happened the same week as Mother’s Day, typically a very busy time for those in the floral industry, Chelsea followed a few steps to make the donation process smooth, while still fulfilling her obligations to her customers. First, she worked with the coordinator of the Boys and Girls Club event to determine what was realistic. Together they agreed on an amount of tulips for each family. Next, Chelsea harvested the flowers and placed them into buckets labeled for the event, separating them from the rest of the flowers in her cooler. She recommends having buckets on hand that can be given away, such as buckets a grocery store’s floral department might otherwise throw out. Finally, she arranged for the event coordinator to pick up the buckets of tulips and explained how to keep them in the best condition prior to the event.

Chelsea’s experience was in supporting young people, so that’s where she gravitated when it came to sharing flowers. Chelsea said, “I’ve had a lot of experiences with kids who are in the hardest moments of their life and they come out on a farm and just watching that process always kind of blows my mind.” Organizations that work with young people, she noted, are typically very open to opportunities or volunteers, but they lack time and resources. If someone is interested in supporting youth in their community, she recommends looking up youth organizations or the Boys and Girls Club in their area. 

The heart of the Growing Kindness Project is to build relationships in real life. Sometimes the hardest part of sharing flowers is identifying people and organizations with which to share. Growing Kindness Project founder Deanna Kitchen suggests that individuals find out where their heart is pulled and start there. Everyone has different experiences and eyes to see the needs in their community. Chelsea’s advice is simple: Reach out.

**We’re deeply grateful to GK Ambassador Alumni, Leah Meyring for writing this article, based on a live interview with GK founder, Deanna Kitchen and Chelsea. If you’d like, you can view the recording of the full interview here.

We're launching Growing Kindness Dahlia Tuber Collections!

Need dahlia tubers so you can grow and share more flowers in kindness? We’ve got you covered!

Our mission is to help more people grow and give flowers in kindness. As a new non-profit organization, we’re constantly asking ourselves how we can best fulfill our purpose.

One way we do this is by providing garden resources to help our team members plant and grow flowers. For the past 3 years, we’ve been shipping Growing Kindness Growing Kits to our Ambassador team members all across the US.

In the beginning, all of the dahlia tubers in these were grown and donated by Twig & Vine Farm, where our founder Deanna Kitchen first launched the project. However, as the project quickly grew, we outgrew the farm’s ability to grow enough tubers for our Ambassador team.

We started reaching out to farms who were members of the project to ask for help in meeting the demand. It’s true what they say: together, we’re better.

Since then, we’ve been honored to work with some incredible farms who’ve generously donated tubers for us to share with our team members. Huge thank you to:

Twig and Vine Farm

TripleWren Farms

Columbia River Dahlias

Two Mini Pigs Farm

Pretty Flower Farm

In fact, they’ so generous that this year, for the first time ever, we not only had enough dahlias to supply our Ambassador team, but we have enough to share with YOU!

We’ve bundled these tubers into collections of 10 premium tubers and we want to share them with you.

Collections are available for $49 plus shipping. Click here to buy yours now.

Every purchase helps our non-profit organization by generating funds that help us offset operational expenses AND enable us to donate more tubers to those in need!

We want to provide FREE tubers to those who need them most! If you, or someone you know, would like to grow more flowers in kindness but is limited by resources, please let us know! Please leave your name, or your nominees name, in the comments below and let us know why you’d like to grow and share more flowers. We will select the recipients on June 16.

Whether you purchase a kit, nominate a recipient, or share about the sale we’re so grateful for all the ways that you’re helping us help more people to grow and give flowers in kindness!

Remembering Amber Bell

In January 2021, when Amber Bell applied to be a Growing Kindness Ambassador, she wrote, "I want flowers and kindness to be part of what people remember about me when I am not here.“

When she applied, Amber had already been battling stage four cancer for four years.


Amber joined our Ambassador team and changed our hearts forever. She taught us so much about continuing to choose kindness, even through the most challenging times. Not a single one of us, ever left an interaction or conversations with her feeling anything but encouraged and inspired.

While Amber nurtured her family, juggled doctors appointments and treatments, she continued to tend her backyard flower garden and took every opportunity she could to share flowers in her community. She gave in big ways and little ways, always sharing kindness. Amber often took flowers with her to appointments to gift to other patients or staff. Her front porch was frequently filled with arrangements with an open invitation for anyone in need of kindness to take a bouquet. Then in July, one of Amber’s dreams came to fruition: she’d always hoped for a cargo bike to be able to ride around town delivering free flowers and sharing kindness.

In September, Amber began transitioning to hospice care. When she turned 42 on October 25, with help from family and friends, Amber made and delivered 42 bouquets to strangers who looked like they could use some extra kindness.

Amber passed on November 30. Cancer took so much from her, but never her radiant light, kindness, generosity, and bravery. Amber left a tender, lasting impression on all of our hearts. Thoughts of kindness and flowers will forever be woven together when we think of Amber.

For a woman who radiated joy while battling excruciating pain, shared kindness while juggling chemo, side effects, and endless doctor's appointments, and couldn't help but generously give to friends and strangers alike, any act of kindness in Amber’s name does not - and will never - go unnoticed.

Amber left a tender, lasting impression on each of us that is knit deeply in the Growing Kindness Project, and we want to be sure her life and legacy of kindness are never forgotten. While we can’t do a lot, we can do small things with great love - one of which is establishing the Amber Bell Legacy Scholarship. Each year, we will award the scholarship to an ambassador echoing Amber’s kindness, generosity, perseverance, light.

This scholarship purpose is to support and acknowledge those, like Amber, demonstrate tremendous kindness, even in the face of difficult circumstances.

We are honored to share that Woebegegue (Maggie) Gravedoni is the first recipient of the Amber Bell Legacy Scholarship.

Maggie, like Amber, exemplifies the courageous, beautiful act of choosing kindness in the face of adversity. Prior to starting her flower farming and landscaping business, Ruth and Piper, Maggie was working as a registered nurse. She knows first hand the stress and grief that surrounds those settings. In 2020, she found herself on the other end as a patient. Ruth and Piper is a passion project that started in 2020 when she needed to find peace and joy - Ruth was her daughter who died in 2020 after a complicated pregnancy and a few days in NICU and Piper is her puppy. The same year Maggie lost her daughter is the same year she grew my first flowers from seed.

Maggie plans to grow flowers to give to parents and staff in the NICU first and foremost, and then to the hospital and long-term care facilities near her and her husband.

We know Maggie will continue to touch hearts in her community and that Amber’s legacy of kindness and story of sharing will continue to be shared and carried forward by the Growing Kindness Team.

Two women giving generously from the depths of their grief to bring great joy.

In Amber’s words, “I feel like I have been given the opportunity to share the hard parts of my life along with the happy times and that as I have found beauty and shared it my life has been so much richer.”

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Introducing the 2022 Growing Kindness Ambassador Team

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“No one becomes poor by giving. ”
— Anne Frank

She wrote those words in hiding while WWII raged on around her. In danger and depravation, she knew and understood deeply: in giving, we always receive.

In helping, we not only heal another’s hurt, but so often our own.

As we reviewed this year’s ambassador applications, we were moved to tears time and again.  Perhaps there has never been a group who, collectively, more fully understand the hope and healing power of kindness.  

Because, perhaps, there has never been another Ambassador team who has experienced so much loss and heartache.  It’s hard to imagine growing up in an orphanage or experiencing extreme poverty. Our hearts break at the thought of losing a child or saying goodbye to loved ones because of Covid, or working to heal from PTSD, or caring for loved ones as they fight addiction.  

Those kinds of experiences can harden us to the point of breaking.  And yet, those are the very fires that some of our 2022 Ambassadors have journeyed through and chosen to come out softer, not harder.  Instead of choosing to retreat, they’re choosing to march forward, with flowers in their hands and hope in their hearts, knowing that every small act of kindness has the power to change a life; including their own. 

These past two years, we’ve all journeyed through trials and tribulations we could have never imagined: a worldwide pandemic, the isolation of lockdowns, a nation reeling from social injustice, and now a terrifying war unfolding in Ukraine.  

We’ve experienced heartache and loss we couldn’t have imagined. What the world needs now, what we each need now, is more kindness. 

The 2022 Ambassador team is ready to lead.  From tiny towns to big cities, across 32 states, they’re preparing to plant seeds of hope and change.

Their desire and commitment to use flowers as a catalyst to brighten days, foster connection and bridge divides is going to change the world, one stem at a time.  We've seen it time and time again: the ripples of the kindness they’ll share this year will reach across the United States...and inspire and encourage kind hearts around the world.

Over and over again, we were inspired and encouraged by applicants’ desires and commitments to use flowers as a catalyst to brighten days and bridge divides. Without a doubt, this incredible team is going to change the world, one stem at a time.


It is our great honor to introduce you to our 2021 Growing Kindness Ambassador Team!

Click on each Ambassador’s image below to:
follow along (on Instagram), learn how they’re growing
and giving flowers, and cheer them on in kindness this year!

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Introducing the 2021 Growing Kindness Ambassador Team

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“‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’”
— Margaret Mead

They hail from big cities and tiny rural towns all across the United States.

They are therapists, social workers, teachers, coaches, principals, sisters, aunts, moms, dads, grandmas, farmers, grad students, lawyers, doctors, nurses.

Some are master gardeners while others will be planting their very first seeds this spring. Some are just starting out, with the fresh and innovative perspective of 18 years, and others carry 70 years of life experience and wisdom.  

Some are seeking to carry on a legacy of growing and gifting flowers handed down to them from parents or grandparents. Some have found solace and healing from terrible heartache and tragedy in the simple act of giving flowers. Some feel called to step forward in service after watching their communities suffer this past year. 

Each of them brings to the team a huge heart and love for serving their community and a tremendous hope and faith in the power of kindness. And it will start in their gardens.

Each Ambassador will plant a flower garden this spring - in pots on balconies in the city; in backyards, tucked beside the swing set; in a parcel of land on a flower farm with a section dedicated to giving freely - with one shared goal: the intention of sharing flowers in goodwill and kindness.

Growing and giving flowers is a simple act. We know it isn’t novel, yet we also know that, oftentimes, the simplest acts are the most significant. We’ve seen - time and time again - that the beauty and simplicity of flowers is something that everyone can connect with. As Jennifer Howard says, “Flowers are universal and connect people when words aren't quite right. Nature unites us and our town needs the beauty and healing flowers provide! ... Our community needs to be reminded that nice people are the norm and are everywhere!”

The pandemic has taught and is teaching us how precious community and real, meaningful connection are. How clear it is that we all yearn for connection. 2020 helped us clearly see that we can all choose to slow our pace to look around and care for one another. As Marianna Sparks put it, “I live in an area where people are often frenzied and filled with stress. Even taking the time to smile at a passerby is rare. This is not because we are a community of bad people...just people on a mission to tackle daily duties until we can relax. I would love to help all of us remember that kindness does not throw us off track. That if our days are going to be filled with obligations, we might as well find beauty in the daily grind and in the people around us. I think the growing kindness project provides a beautiful opportunity to soften the walls that have been erected. I can't think of any words that could do that.”

As we read through Ambassador applications, we were brought to tears over and over again at applicants’ abilities to truly see the unique needs of their neighbors and communities. 

  • Collectively, there’s a longing to give back to those who’ve given so much this past year: first responders, frontline medical workers, and hospital gardens; teachers and school staffs.

  • Many also listed their mission as finding ways to give flowers to isolated seniors and especially seniors in long term care: adding flowers to meal delivery programs, visiting isolated neighbors, delivering buckets of flowers to local senior living homes, and more. As Emily Saxon so beautifully noted, “Assisted and long-term living facilities have had an unprecedented year. In our area, they are not allowed to have visitors. Many haven't seen their family in nearly a year. That is devastating to me. Flowers are so personal and everyone has a memory with them. I want to share what I grow with those who are living in assisted and long-term facilities to let them know they are loved - even still, even by a perfect stranger.”

  • Over and over again, we read of the desire to connect underserved children and youth to flowers: school and neighborhood gardens, children creating bouquets to share, and after-school clubs, to name just a few ideas shared.

  • Heart-longings were courageously shared with a hope to truly see and remind others how much they matter: widows, widowers, those going through infertility, Special Olympics athletes, women’s shelters, domestic violence shelters, homeless centers, mental health patients, those considering placing their babies with adoptive families.

Over and over again, we were inspired and encouraged by applicants’ desires and commitments to use flowers as a catalyst to brighten days and bridge divides. Without a doubt, this incredible team is going to change the world, one stem at a time.

Their commitment to carrying the Growing Kindness project and mission forward will encourage you, and the beauty of their hearts and their vision for Growing Kindness in the coming year will inspire you, too.

It is my great honor to introduce you to our 2021 Growing Kindness Ambassador Team!

Click on each Ambassador’s image below to:
follow along (on Instagram), learn how they’re growing
and giving flowers, and cheer them on in kindness this year!

A Beginner's Guide to Growing Great Dahlias

Dahlias are the mascot of the Growing Kindness Project™ for many reasons, including the incredible way their tubers multiply each year. Each year, Growing Kindness Ambassadors are given a garden of dahlia tubers to grow. Each fall, they dig, divide and share these tubers, paying forward the opportunity to grow and give away flowers. Perhaps you’ve been gifted tubers. We’re here to help you grow them! Below, you’ll find a simple guide to planting, tending and harvesting dahlias.

After you’ve purchased dahlia tubers, open the bag and store your tubers in a cool, dry place until you are ready to plant. (A basement or unheated garage is a great place.)

*Choose the best growing site: dahlias require at least 8 hours of sun each day and well- drained soil.

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To become part of The Growing Kindness™ team or for more resources click here.

Prepare your soil by tilling or digging. Dahlias prefer rich soil. Add compost and a balanced organic fertilizer. Dahlias are a “hungry” plant: adding a small handful of bonemeal to the bottom of each whole will help them get a strong start.

*Wait until your Last Frost Date has passed before planting your tubers. As a rule of thumb, the ideal time to plant dahlias is when the lilacs are blooming. (The soil is warm and less saturated at this time.)

*Plant dahlias 12-18 inches apart and 3-4 inches deep with the tuber laying on its side and the eye (sprout) facing up. (If you can’t see the eye , no worries...it will find its way up!)

*DO NOT water your dahlias until the first green sprouts emerge. (Over-watering can cause your tubers to rot before they can grow.) Begin watering once leaves emerge. Water thoroughly every 2-3 days, or as needed based on your soil and precipitation.

*When your plants are 12-18 inches tall, give them a “hard pinch”, cutting out 4-6 inches of the main shoot. This will encourage your dahlias to put on more and taller stems. *Dahlias grow between 3 and 5 feet tall: be sure to provide support for each plant. Each plant can be individually staked or you can “coral” several plants by staking around a row or group of plants and wrapping the group with three rows of twine (just like a coral!).

*Manage pests. Sluggo Plus is a great organic option to help manage slugs and earwigs. To combat aphids, spray them with a mixture of soap and water. (One capful dishsoap to one bottle of water.)

*Harvest the blooms when petals are about 3⁄4ths open but before the petals on the back of the bloom have begun to fade or shrivel. The more stems you cut, the more your dahlias will bloom! It’s best to cut early in the morning or later in the evening when it’s cool. Place blooms directly in cool water and enjoy!