Knoxville Rotary - Meeting Information

Dr. Roger M. Nooe is a Director of Social Services at teh Community Law Office and has worked with the office since 2000. He is Professor Emeritus of the University of Tennessee, after being on the faculty for 30 years. Prior to coming to Tennessee, he was on the faculty at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Nooe graduated from Maryville College and has M.S.W. and Ph.D. degrees from Tulane University. He is a licensed clinical worker and his experience includes positions with the Kentucky Department of Mental Health, Bluegrass Comprehensive Care Center, private practice, and program consultation. During the past twenty-five years he has actively researched homelessness and has authored biennial reports on area homelessness. He was the first president of the Knoxville-Knox County Homeless Coalition. Dr. Nooe chaired the Mayors' Task Force to develop the Ten-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness and later served as the director of the implementation office for the plan. He is on the boards of a number of organizations including, the Symposium for the Advancement of Family Therapy, Mental Health Association of East Tennessee and Lakeshore Board of Trustees. Currently, he serves on the Criminal Justice-Mental Health Task Force that addresses the problem of incarcerating the mentally ill in correctional facilities. He has authored numerous articles and reports on his research as well as begin a frequent presenter on clinical practice, homelessness, mental illness, forensic social work and addressing ethical dilemmas. He has twice received the University of Tennessee Alumni Service Award and also the Points of Light Award. __________________________________________________________________________________

Program Recap - February 28, 2012

Larsen Jay

Larsen Jay

Random Acts of Flowers

Russ Watkins introduced our guest speaker, Larsen Jay, founder of Random Acts of Flowers (RAF). RAF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity whose volunteers collect flowers from weddings, memorial services, special events, florists, grocery stores and churches, to recycle an re-purpose them into beautiful bouquets for delivery to patients in area hospitals, nursing homes, and hospice care centers.

Mr. Jay founded RAF after a near-fatal accident in 2007. During his hospitalization he was touched by the outpouring of support from others, including numerous flower arrangements that he had received. This experience helped to generate the idea to give away some of the flower arrangements to other patients who needed them more than he did.

Over the past three years, RAF has delivered over 11,000 bouquets and recycled over 13,000 vases. Flower arrangements have been delivered to patients in seven local hospitals, 35 nursing homes or assisted living facilities, and 5 residential hospice centers. RAF has one part-time and two full-time employees, 125 volunteers, and is governed by a 14-member Board of Directors.

This unique charity is supported by private financial donations (11%), in kind services (10%), grants (16%), and special events (63%). Interested parties are encouraged to volunteer their time, donate money, be an advocate for the program, and attend special events. Specific volunteer opportunities include arranging flowers, making donation pick-ups, recycling vases, assisting with special events, and making weekly deliveries. Special events include the Fall Bulb Sale, Floral Workshops, and Art in the Garden.

Anyone interested in helping can all 633-9082 or go to http://randomactsofflowers.org/