Pacific Northwest Volunteer Program Brings Summer Flowers to Needy, Isolated Seniors

A community program in Washington helps lonely seniors battle isolation through flowers.

The Bainbridge Island, Washington, nonprofit Island Volunteer Caregivers (IVC) deploys drivers delivering floral arrangements through IVC’s Flowers from the Heart program.

Each summer, the Flowers from the Heart program delivers hundreds of donated bouquets, offering simple moments of connection and care —neighbors helping neighbors through helping hands and open hearts.

For over twenty years, community members have been bringing flowers from their gardens to Eagle Harbor Church for IVC volunteers to assemble into gorgeous bouquets. These bouquets are then delivered to people around the community who can’t otherwise get out to appreciate the bounties of summer.

Flowers From the Heart is a unique program with a simple concept – to provide gifts of joy and kindness in the form of bouquets of flowers in the summer months.

Serving Bainbridge Island for more than 30 years, IVC connects neighbors to reduce isolation and support independence, providing free, volunteer-powered support to older adults, individuals with disabilities, caregivers, and those facing adversity. Through a network of more than 300 volunteers, IVC brings people together in meaningful ways, offering both practical help and human connection.

Services include medical transportation, errands, grocery and prescription pickups, meals through the IVC Care Kitchen, companionship, respite, check-ins, and resource navigation. It also offers caregiver and grief support groups, along with life enrichment activities that foster connection and enhance well-being. IVC plays a vital role in identifying and filling gaps in services when other resources are unavailable.

Bainbridge Island is in Puget Sound directly west of Seattle.