Joy Petalers recycles flower arrangments into small acts of love

Photos by Jacob Wiegand | jacobwiegand@archstl.org Joy Petalers “floristas” Becky O’Neill and Vicky Schaeffer crafted bouquets Oct. 8 at the Joy Petalers office space in Rock Hill. Joy Petalers is a nonprofit that takes donated floral arrangements and makes new bouquets for those experiencing isolation or loneliness.

Fueled by faith, new nonprofit Joy Petalers recycles old flower arrangements into beautiful bouquets for others who are isolated

Jennifer Brinker

Submitted on October 9, 2024

Spread out on Colleen O’Neill Rohm’s counter were the deconstructed remnants of 12 large floral arrangements from a recent funeral. She and two other volunteers quickly got to work separating the flowers into buckets by color and type.

In a little over an hour, the three rearranged the blooms into 18 fresh bouquets, which would be delivered later that day to several senior living residences. It’s all part of the mission of Joy Petalers, a new nonprofit that O’Neill Rohm of Holy Redeemer Parish in Webster Groves and Patricia Morningstar co-founded this year to bring a smile to others who might be lonely or isolated.

Joy Petalers co-founder Colleen O’Neill Rohm laughed as Joy Petalers “floristas” Lynn Ott and Vicky Schaeffer worked on bouquets on Oct. 8 at the Joy Petalers office space in Rock Hill. “I think flowers have a way of just bringing a lot of joy to people. And so that’s what we’re about is, you know, extending the life of these flowers and bringing more joy to people,” O’Neill Rohm said.

The process is simple: Joy Petalers accepts donated floral arrangements from weddings, funerals and other special events that otherwise would be discarded. Volunteers, called “floristas,” take them apart, freshen them up by removing any dead or wilted blooms and leaves, trim the stems and arrange them into new bouquets. The bouquets are then delivered to places including senior care residences. Volunteers hope to expand their deliveries to veterans’ facilities, shelters and hospitals, too.

“It’s so simple,” O’Neill Rohm said. “We all love flowers, right? And at the end of the day, just walk in any hall of any care facility and you see these faces of people who just need some love. It’s a small act of love, you know?”

Small things with great love

Part of O’Neill Rohm’s inspiration came from St. Therese of Lisieux, the French Carmelite nun who was known for her “Little Way” of becoming a saint — by doing small things with great love. After a cancer diagnosis in 2022, a friend encouraged her to look to St. Therese’s intercession, so O’Neill Rohm began praying a novena to the saint.

The cancer treatments were successful; with a new outlook on life, O’Neill Rohm told her husband that after a long career in marketing and real estate, she now wanted to do something with purpose.

“How can I give back after this gift I was given?” she asked.

Joy Petalers co-founder Colleen O’Neill Rohm, a parishioner of Holy Redeemer in Webster Groves, and Lynn Ott, a parishioner at Mary, Queen of Peace in Webster Groves, delivered bouquets to St. Agnes Home on Oct. 8 in Kirkwood. Joy Petalers accepts donated floral arrangements from weddings, funerals and other special events that otherwise would be discarded and creates new arrangements for people experiencing isolation or loneliness.

While on a trip to Las Vegas, O’Neill Rohm encountered two women, one of whom told her about an organization she volunteered with that recycles leftover floral arrangements to be donated to others. When she returned home, she did some research and discovered that while there are dozens of similar organizations throughout the country, no such thing existed in St. Louis.

O’Neill Rohm contacted the closest organization she could find, Unexpected Blooms in the Kansas City area. Another St. Louis woman, Patricia Morningstar, contacted the organization around the same time, also looking to start something in St. Louis. The two were put in touch.

The perfect arrangement

With the flowers spread out on the counter, Morningstar plucked several white roses and carnations and some greenery and began arranging them in a vase. The key to making a beautiful bouquet, she said, is to use a variety of flowers and colors — but also make sure that they are arranged from all sides.

“You want to start with some greenery,” she said. “And then let’s start with maybe five major flowers. The goal is to be cheery.”

Newly created Joy Petalers bouquets include a note to the recipients, who are often lonely or isolated.

Morningstar, who has experience in floral design and has volunteered with a similar organization in Tampa, Florida, explained that the perfect bouquet has “fillers, thrillers and spillers.”

“Filler is kind of the greenery,” she said. “So you start with the greenery, and then you start with the thrillers, which are the main roses, the main flowers in the arrangement. These little ones, the spillers, are the small, little delicate flowers that you want to put in after.”

The finishing touches include a hand-tied bow around the vase — all of which Morningstar made herself — and the organization’s business card tucked inside the bouquet. Volunteer and board member Linda Heikkila included a hand-written note on the back of each card: “Sending smiles your way.”

“It’s a small thing, but look at how much love it’s done with,” O’Neill Rohm said. “I think we all feel like we’re very fortunate in our lives and we’re able to give back in this way.”

Sharing their gifts

The finished bouquets were loaded into the back of O’Neill Rohm’s car and delivered to several senior residences the same afternoon. One of their stops included St. Agnes Home, an assisted-living facility in Kirkwood overseen by the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus.

Joy Petalers “floristas,” from right, Vicky Schaeffer, Becky O’Neill, Lynn Ott and Cathie Cotton made bouquets on Oct. 8 at the Joy Petalers office space in Rock Hill.

There, the volunteers introduced themselves to administrator Angela Ruppel — who was all smiles over the surprise delivery — and explained the mission of Joy Petalers.

“I’m already thinking of who those flowers will go to,” Ruppel said. “We do have some people who have COVID, and they’re in their rooms, so they’re going to love these.”

Over time, as volunteers develop relationships with recipient facilities, they hope to visit with residents, O’Neill Rohm said. They’d also like to host flower arrangement workshops with residents.

“Isolation doesn’t discriminate,” she said. “Loneliness and isolation — all of us are so familiar with that when you think about COVID and the repercussions that had on our society and the way we communicate and even just your daily life. And then think about someone who is stuck in a hospital bed, or there’s no one visiting you.”

Joy Petalers hopes to expand their deliveries to veterans’ homes, shelters and hospitals as donations increase. So far, they’ve arranged partnerships with several event spaces, as well as local floral designer Bloomin’ Buckets and Dierbergs Florist and Gifts. The organization also recently moved into a donated office space in Rock Hill, where volunteers are invited to help make arrangements.

O’Neill Rohm said her Catholic faith — particularly, the “not I, but we” philosophy she learned as a student at St. Joseph’s Academy — is what pushes her to do for others.

“This is truly an extension of that,” she said. “All three of us are very faith-filled. This is a way that we can be the hands of God in the world. It’s through using our talents. How can this not make you happy about what you’re doing?”