By They just need some joy brought to their lives, a young Evan Sykes thought as he left a local nursing home after visiting his great-grandmother, Pearl Berger. So many of them have no visitors, and they look so sad and lonely. Evan’s heart was touched, and he never -forgot the residents’ faces.
A few years later in 2021, he took over his family’s florist business, Reed Family Floral, and he and his team were preparing for Valentine’s Day—the busiest day of the year for flower shops. Evan suddenly remembered the nursing home -residents who tugged at his heartstrings all those years earlier.
How can we use the beauty of flowers to help them feel loved too? thought Evan, now 25. He and his family, who still help run the Virgie, Kentucky, floral shop brainstormed and decided to start delivering single roses.
“We’ll call it ‘Adopt a Resident,’ so others in the community can get involved too!” the family decided. “We can deliver hundreds of single red roses in plastic vases with a bow to residents of nursing homes and assisted-living centers.”
In that moment, their special program was born. For Valentine’s Day, individuals and businesses can sponsor flowers at the Reed Family Floral website for $16.99 each, and people with limited means can pay just $5.
Delivering love
In the program’s first year, with Covid-19 precautions still in effect, Evan had to drop off the vases at the nursing homes rather than hand the flowers out to residents personally. But it still made such an impact that a nurse later called Evan to thank him. “The residents just loved it!” she said. That call confirmed what Evan had hoped: that he could touch the lives of hurting people and bring them joy for Valentine’s Day.
The next few years, with life relatively back to normal, Evan was able to pass out the flowers himself at the nursing homes, which helped add a wonderful touch to the gift. Each meaningful interaction makes Evan’s heart smile. “Aww, a rose for Rose,” a lady named Rose told Evan when he handed her the vase.
Last year, Reed Family Floral delivered 390 roses, and a woman from a local sewing group posted about Adopt a Resident on social media. Before they knew it, many group members created crocheted hearts that they were able to attach to the vases to add an extra touch of care.
Now, Adopt a Resident serves four facilities—both nursing homes and assisted-living centers. Evan works with family members, employees and a few volunteers to deliver all the flowers on the day before Valentine’s Day, which works with the shop’s jam-packed schedule.
Every year, Evan looks forward to seeing a woman named Billie, who dresses up to receive her flowers.
“Thank you so much and we appreciate you,” Billie tells Evan as his heart soars with joy for the opportunity to spread love.
Grateful recipients
Chelsi Hamilton, executive director of Cedar Creek Assisted Living in Pikeville, says she loves watching the faces of the residents light up when they get their Valentine’s Day flowers. “Any time that we have organizations that come in to give back to the residents, it lets them know that they have people who think about them,” Chelsi says. “It gives them that sense that someone cares. It means so much to them. That lets them know that they’re not alone.”
Mary Alice Wallace, who moved into Cedar Creek three years ago, got her first flower from Adopt a Resident just weeks after arriving. Her husband, John—who has since passed away—loved receiving a Valentine’s Day flower too. “It’s a -wonderful surprise,” says Mary, 81. “Everyone loves flowers, and these are just so beautiful!”
Evan gets just as much out of Adopt a Resident as the rose recipients do. “It makes my entire year,” he says. “There are people who have lost spouses and children, and it erases all that pain for just a moment. It’s amazing knowing that you’re bringing joy to someone when they need it the most.”
