There is no doubt that when someone receives flowers they smile. The smiles and feelings of joy that SECOND BLOOM provides our homebound clients are immeasurable.
Second Bloom is a non-profit organization that was the brainchild of Anne Bell, founder, who was a previous florist at Pebble Beach Company. Anne realized that after each event, flowers were discarded. She asked if they could be repurposed back into the community for those less fortunate and TA-DA Second Bloom was born.
Originally starting out with 8 volunteers, they began on Anne Bell’s deck in La Selva. As more sources of flowers became available from other florists in the area, a second location began in Pebble Beach. First in a backyard and now a garage! Now 70 volunteers are strong in two locations serving Monterey County and Santa Cruz County!
They currently provide over 200 flower arrangements to various organizations such as VNA Hospice, Meals on Wheels of the Monterey Peninsula, Heartland Hospice, Westland House, Jerry’s Place, Carmel Foundation, and Casa de Noche Buena just to name a few!
One of the most intriguing aspects of Second Bloom is how innovative they were during Covid. Since no events were occurring, there were no flowers to be had. So Anne went directly to the growers, who had multitudes of flowers that were not being ordered!
So the flowers during this time were actually “first bloom” flowers! They never skipped a beat!
The obstacles this fabulous non-profit is experiencing is finding a permanent home!
They have been set up in a volunteer’s garage for now going on 3 years – which was never the plan. Donations are generated by kind individuals as well as organizations such as Carmel Rotary which help cover their operating costs.
When asked what is the surprise for your organization, the replies all include appreciation!
When comments are heard such as one from a home-bound senior “I haven’t seen a flower in three years” you realize the impact the beauty of fresh flowers brings to a life that is less fortunate, as well as appreciation for those that donate their time as well as financial support.
When one of their volunteers comes to MOWMP on Mondays and says flower delivery, we all “ohh and ahh” at the lovely arrangements in decorated soup cans beaming with colorful flowers of all varieties. Each driver takes flowers for their clients and a smile!
If you know of any location in which Second Bloom could relocate please notify Anne Bell!
We do not want them to lose their present workspace and have to discontinue this tremendous service they provide to so many senior organizations.
