Past... It takes an idea, a need, a host of talents, and a committed membership to create and maintain a successful service project. Our Hessie Morrah Garden Club’s Hospice Sunshine Project began in 1993, with an idea and plan from teenager Susannah Stroud. Having seen the sadness and bleakness that was pervasive with the terminally ill, Susannah went to school determined to make a difference in these patients’ lives. An idea sprung forth! She had always loved flowers and plants, and she frequently visited family friend, Karin Purvis, at The Houseplant. She thought of providing birthday baskets of flowering plants to hospice patients. That summer, with $100 in Latin prize money, she approached Karin with her idea. Karin was delighted to design and arrange the baskets and offered her services free of charge; Susannah would pay Karin’s wholesale prices for plants and materials, and she would serve as the courier and coordinator with the GHS Hospice staff.
It so happened that the HMGC had been searching for an annual project, so Susannah’s mother, Donna, invited her daughter to present the project idea to the club. The members embraced the project and agreed to provide both financial and hands-on support. Thus, the HMGC Hospice Sunshine Project was born! In the first year, the club sent 60 baskets to Hospice patients. After a few years and countless notes of gratitude from patients, family members, and Hospice staffers, the HMGC decided to expand the project to include Christmas poinsettia baskets for each GHS Hospice patient.
Present... At the end of 2014, Karin Purvis, club member and our founding floral designer for the Hessie Morrah Garden Club Hospice Project, retired and closed The Houseplant. As a short-term solution to keeping our project “alive” during the winter of 2015, our project’s co-chairs created the monthly birthday baskets and rearranged the foyer basket. Fortunately, the manager of Roots on Augusta, Catherine Reeves, had worked with our project in the past since she had been Karin Purvis’ design assistant at The Houseplant for many years. The owner of Roots, Wesley Turner, and floral designer Becca Gregory were delighted to join Catherine in wholeheartedly supporting our Hospice Project. This creative team agreed to provide monthly floral arrangements for Open Arms Hospice patients on their birthdays, seasonal arrangements for our foyer basket at the McCall Hospice House, and to give our club all materials and design expertise for a reduced, budget-friendly fee!
Future... Members of the Hessie Morrah Garden Club will continue transporting the birthday baskets to the McCall Hospice House on the first Wednesday of each month and our garden club will continue to decorate poinsettias for the in-patients at McCall Hospice House. We are grateful to Roots of Greenville, to Open Arms Hospice, and to the professional staff and volunteers at McCall Hospice House for the teamwork involved with our club’s project as we look forward to its future success!
UPDATED AS OF October 25, 2022 Winslett's in Easley is now our preferred florist/nursery that creates the beautiful birthday baskets for the patients at McCall Hospice House. Becca who did our baskets with Catherine at Roots is the designer, along with Dehanna, who also worked at Roots. Deanna is our contact person, as Becca is out for a few months on maternity leave. Also helping with the plants is Alex. Winslett's owner is Jamie. The phone number at Winslett's is 864.855.1176.