An Island branch of Floral Angels was set up in Jersey after Frances Hunter, one of the co-founders of the national charity, moved permanently to the Island.
She now works closely with Angela Malet de Carteret and a small team of other local volunteers to rescue flowers from weddings and events and redistribute them to organisations such as Jersey Hospice Care and Jersey Women’s Refuge, as well as the Island’s care homes.
Using premises at St Ouen’s Manor donated to them by the Seigneur of St Ouen, the group use the flowers they have collected after events have finished to create smaller bouquets in recycled tins wrapped with hessian and ribbon.
They then deliver them, with Mrs Hunter saying it is particularly rewarding when they go to people such as the clients of the refuge, who would often not normally receive flowers.
‘We have now donated hundreds of bouquets in Jersey, which is great, and in the UK we have donated around 20,000 since we started,’ she said.
‘Flowers can definitely transform a room, especially for people who are room-bound within a care home. And some of them don’t have families living locally, so it is lovely to be able to drop the flowers off and have a little chat.
‘For some people with conditions such as dementia flowers can prompt a little bit of conversation, for example about the flowers they had in their wedding bouquet.’
She added that over Christmas the charity, which launched in Jersey last year, had received a number of donations following corporate parties, while during the summer the focus was on weddings.
‘The flowers are usually arranged that day, they are in situ that evening and we receive them the next morning, so they are still very fresh,’ said Mrs Hunter.
‘People have taken a lot of time and care and money on their flowers and not everyone can take flowers home with them after an event, so they are often left behind.
‘Brides love recycling them as well, and we often say it is their first charitable act as a married couple.’
To date the charity has been supported by three main florists, Mark Howe, Wild Thyme and Bella Flori.
To get in touch with the charity, which has the Duchess of Cornwall as its national patron, call Mrs Hunter on 07947 762782 or Mrs Malet de Carteret on 07797 843016 or email floralangelsjersey@gmail.com. For more information about the charity visit floralangels.com.
