It's been nearly seven years.
In 2016, a group of volunteers began their 1 of the land at What Cheer Flower Farm in Rhode Island, with a simple 2 : get flowers into the hands of anyone in need of a pick-me-up. 3 , each one of the tens of thousands of bunches that What Cheer grows and delivers are 4 free of charge.
"We want to blanket the state with flowers and bring 5 to people," says Erin Achenbach, What Cheer's farmer and head florist. What Cheer regularly delivers 6 joy to people at recovery centers, food banks, senior centers, local 7 and more including AIDS Care Ocean State.
"Seeing the smiles on people's faces who didn't 8 it — who just came in to have a meeting with their case manager or take advantage of one of our programs — to just see this 9 come off their faces is great," says Stephen from AIDS Care Ocean State.
Located in a 10 industrial neighborhood, What Cheer's flower beds lie on 2.7 acres that once housed a crumbling knife factory. And it's safe to say that the What Cheer crew 11 some flowers of their own: In May, the nonprofit was awarded a record-high $500,000grant from the Environmental Protection Agency for its continued 12 of a brown field site once abandoned because of industrial pollution.
"Not only do we give this space back to the 13 by bringing life to space that's quite literally dead," says Achenbach, "but we're an eco-landing spot with the ability to help with the 14 of local insects and birds, and that'll only make people's lives better."
"What's good about a flower is that it needs 15 else," she adds. "Your only job when someone gives you flowers is to enjoy them."
