Why give away flowers for World Kindness Day?

Kindness is part of our DNA. Starting Little Flowers, the thing that excited me most was that I got to make Sydney a better place. It sounds trite, I know, but I really mean it. We wanted to enable people to be kind and lovely to each other. To be able to deliver flowers for the small reasons, not just the big ones. A small, affordable gesture. And that felt really good.

Our flowers are, really, a vehicle for kindness. There’s a reason behind each and every bunch that is sent, and it’s always rooted in kindness.  A massive proportion of our flowers are sent for ‘just because’ kind of reasons. Just to be nice, just to cheer someone up who’s having an awful day, just to say a little thank you or a little well done. The kind of reasons people wouldn’t have delivered flowers for, before we existed, because it just wasn’t affordable. 

There are lots of ‘days’ throughout the year that florists get on board with – cat day, crush day, that kind of thing. But many of them are kind of gimmicky. World Kindness Day is different. It’s something that’s really fundamental to why we started the business and also why our customers send our flowers. 

We’ve had heaps of fun over the years gifting our blooms away at random, just for the hell of it. But doing something more organised, and on a bigger scale, to mark World Kindness Day was really a way to celebrate all the kind gestures our customers make every day. It just felt like a lovely thing to do. Particularly after the crazy few years we’ve just been through together.

 

 

What random acts of kindness have you done in the past?

We’ve done so many fun things in Sydney! Knock and run flower drops at random houses, leaving flowers in shopping trolleys and on windshields in car parks. We’ve given out flowers from our vans when we’ve stopped at pedestrian crossings or been stuck in traffic jams. I always like to have a spare posy on board when I’m driving home and look for a fun opportunity. It’s sometimes weirdly nerve wracking stopping someone to give them flowers as they can be suspicious, thinking that you want something! But once they realise you’re just being nice you get the best reactions. Honestly, if you’ve had a bad day there is nothing better than a bit of flower gifting on the way home to make you feel better about life! One of the nicest experiences we’ve had as a team is knocking on a random door and having an older, very manly man answer. For some reason, it wasn’t what we were expecting. It turns out he’d never received flowers before, and it made him cry. Which in turn, of course, made us cry! We’re an emotional bunch.

 

 

What made you call for volunteers?

I always feel like we’re in it together with our customers. We’re doing something in their service by scouring the markets at dawn, and creating the prettiest bunches. And they are doing something really, really wonderful for us by supporting our business, which we are hugely grateful for. Most importantly though, together, we’re putting a smile on someone else’s face. And that’s a great feeling. Asking for volunteers was an extension of that, and a way to have some fun together. I have to admit I was initially a bit apprehensive about putting the call out for volunteers. What if nobody was up for it!? But then we received our first email reply and were super excited. Our #randomactsofflowering mission began and the volunteers kept rolling in. It was a really fun way to connect with our customers and to spread little ripples of kindness across Sydney together. It was hectic, but I loved every minute of it.

 

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Tell us about the day, what did you get up to?

We had an army of helpers who gave out flowers across Sydney on World Kindness Day and also in the lead up. Flowers were left on doorsteps, in bike baskets and given to people on the streets of Sydney, from Kellyville to Coogee. It was a lot of fun seeing the photos come in from all over the city and heartwarming to hear some of the stories that went with them. If you have a couple of minutes, check out our pics and videos on instagram here.

 

Are you going to do something similar for World Kindness Day 2023? And, if so, how can people get involved?

Absolutely! World Kindness Day is part of the World Kindness Movement, and it happens on November 13th every year. It was designed to promote kindness globally, and that’s definitely something we want to be a part of. We’ll make sure we put the call out for volunteers on our newsletter first, so stay subscribed and keep an eye on your emails this time next year Sydney!