It’s International Nurses Day - a day to show appreciation to the contributions that nurses make to society, and in the Elk Valley there was plenty of appreciation going around.
On Wednesday morning 80 bouquets and bags of goodies were delivered to nurses up and down the Elk Valley, with Sherry Benko of Buds and Blooms organising the little show of appreciation.
“People want to thank them but don’t have a vehicle to do that - this was an avenue for them to show their appreciation,” said Benko.
The appreciation and love was heart-felt so far, said Benko, who has already gotten calls of thanks from some of the 60 nurses in Fernie, 16 in Sparwood and four in Elkford who had their day brightened with flowers.
The initiative was possible thanks to community donations, with folks donating whatever they could to show some love to the front line workers in town.
Around $900 was raised since Benko started raising funds, with donations ranging all the way up to $100 from a single person.
For that, each nurse was gifted a bouquet of flowers and a bag of goodies sourced from local businesses in Fernie and Sparwood.
Nurses were also given cards of thanks which were custom-made by grade one students from Frank J. Mitchell Elementary School in Sparwood.
Benko has been handing out flowers for the last few months through her ‘adopt a senior’ program, which has to far seen more than 300 seniors ‘adopted’ by good folks in the valley, with the most recent batch delivered last week for Mother’s Day.
“Every day I get a message or phone-call or something from people saying how happy the flowers make them,” said Benko.
READ MORE: Adopt a senior this Easter
scott.tibballs@thefreepress.ca
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