ABOUT US
A MESSAGE FROM EVA
In April 2017, Eva Cloward started Second Chance Bouquets as a charitable organization with the vision to serve the Omaha Metro community by delivering recycled flowers from weddings and special events to resident and patients at local nursing homes and healthcare facilities. The goal is to bring joy and happiness through re-purposed flowers and personal compassion while enriching the emotional health of the residents.
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The genesis of this idea began when the florist who provided flowers for Eva’s wedding was relating a story about a wedding where she had to “throw out” 150 beautiful reception centerpieces because the bride and groom did not need nor want the flowers after their wedding. Realizing this as a waste of floral beauty, she decided to create a charity to re-purpose these “unwanted” flowers and deliver them to residents and patients at local nursing homes and healthcare facilities.
With help from her husband and family the idea took flight and Second Chance Bouquets became a reality. Eva worked with Elissa Vilter from “Floral Designs by Elissa” to encourage clients to donate their wedding flowers so that their beauty would extend beyond their special day.
In May 2017, Second Chance Bouquets received their first floral donation and plans were made to deliver to Richmont Village, a senior living facility in Bellevue. That first delivery consisted of 17 floral arrangements. Since that day Second Chance Bouquets has delivered nearly 1400 floral arrangements to residents at 15 local nursing home and senior living communities.
OUR VALUES
Compassion – All of God’s children are valuable no matter their condition in life and are deserving of our kindness
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Commitment – we are dedicated to our community and its citizens and strive to make it the best place to live and work
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Fulfillment – enriching the lives of our fellow man drives our passion to serve others in our community
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Responsibility – recycling flowers protects the environment and saves landfill space by extending the joy of previously-enjoyed flowers
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It is the end of the year again, and as I sit down to write this letter I am amazed at how fast this year has gone by. Last year (2021) we set a goal of delivering 2,021 arrangements to residents and patients, and if you remember we exceeded that goal. This year we did not set a delivery goal, but instead we wanted to add more delivery locations to our list, and we did that. This year we added Heritage at Sterling Ridge, Harmony Court in Bellevue, Harmony Court in Council Bluffs, and Prestige Care Center in Plattsmouth.
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This year we also worked towards being more environmentally friendly. Through a chance encounter this spring, we connected with Oma-Grow. We now take our plant waste to the Oma- Grow facility where they turn our waste into compost. We also connected with several florists in an effort to “pay-it-forward.” We receive many large and varied vases that we cannot use for delivering modest arrangements to residents and patients; and instead of simply recycling the vases at the glass recycling location, we take these vases, baskets, and trays to local florists for them to recycle into new arrangements for their clients. We are continually looking for ways to make better use of our storage space (our garage). This summer, we started arranging flowers in our garage rather than inside our house. It was nice to not make a mess in the house and have plenty of space to make a HUGE mess that was easier to clean.
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Because of two large donations at the very end of the year (December 30th) we exceeded our delivery numbers from last year and have set a new record of 2,264 deliveries in one year. That means in our six years of operating we have delivered a total of 8,318 arrangements to local residents and patients.
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As we look toward this New Year, we already have several weddings on the calendar, two bridal fairs, and a chance to pick up and deliver over 300 arrangements from our Governor’s Inauguration Ball. We are always looking for volunteers to help pick up flowers at all the lovely late night wedding receptions, arrange flowers before delivery, and deliver arrangements to facilities. Please contact us if you are interested in any of these volunteer opportunities.
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As with many other charities this time of year, we also need your financial support to help make 2023 another banner year for SCB. Producing our beautiful bouquets takes not only flowers and vases but also requires other supplies to aid in the preparation and delivery of our floral arrangements. If you head to our DONATE page click the DONATE NOW button, your generous gift will be used to bring joy and happiness to many Omaha metro area people; plus 100% of your monetary donation goes directly to creating and delivering our bouquets, donations to Second Chance Bouquets are tax deductible
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We could not do what we do without YOU; your support, encouragement, and generosity keep us going and confirm that we are doing something great for the community.
OUR HISTORY