Holly Alvarez of Holly Rose Wholesale florist in Mount Laurel, N.J., carries a bundle of roses that will be used to make Mothers Day bouquets for women whos children have died. Working with the Compassionate Friends of Camden County, Alvarez will deliver about 50 bouquets on Mothers Day. (Emma Lee/WHYY)
Last Mother’s Day, a friend of Holly Alvarez shared an article with her about a florist in the United Kingdom who created bouquets for those who were grieving. The bouquets were given for free to anyone who contacted the shop, no questions asked.
“I thought it was really sweet,” Alvarez said. “It was obviously too late for me to do it last Mother’s Day, but I said I’m going to do something like that here.”
Alvarez, who is a co-owner of Holly Rose Wholesale with her father, is taking inspiration from the gesture. Instead of having people call her Mt. Laurel shop, she will deliver bouquets to mothers who have lost a child.
Those who will receive the bouquets did not have to come to the shop to sign up. Alvarez said she didn’t want to issue a call to action for the mothers to come to her.
“A lot of people won’t put themselves in that vulnerable place,” Alvarez added. “I [needed] to find these mothers on my own and deliver the flowers to them so that there’s no work on them.”
To find the mothers, she worked with a local organization. The flowers are to be a surprise, which is why WHYY News is not naming which group Alvarez worked with.
On Friday and Saturday, at least eight volunteers will assist Alvarez in preparing the bouquets. She will then spend Mother’s Day delivering bouquets to at least 40 grieving mothers. Alvarez hopes to do more next Mother’s Day.
“My hope is that this goes really well,” she said, “that we can share this and that we can have a goal of reaching 200 mothers next year and get some more people in the flower industry involved in terms of donations of flowers.”