Sarah Fishman is a staunch Baycrest advocate. And she wants everyone to wake up and smell the roses in appreciation of its work – literally.
Feeling compelled to give back to Baycrest after a series of personal hardships, on Sept. 13, 2015, Sarah set up the “Bubby’s Blooms” flower stand on the main floor of Baycrest’s Apotex Centre, Jewish Home for the Aged. With some help from the Baycrest Foundation, she promptly raised nearly $1,700 in on-site flower sales and inspired another $5,400 in donations from friends, family and visitors. In all, some $7,100 went to her family’s Krybus Family Fund, which helps supports quality of life programming at Baycrest.
Sarah brought a total of 900 bouquets of flowers to Baycrest and sold nearly 500, the remainder were donated to Baycrest, with bouquets placed in every resident’s room as well as distributed around campus to all common areas, wings and wards.
The inspiration for this social-entrepreneurial project? Fishman’s bubby.
“Bubby’s Blooms is a flower sale in honour of all bubbies and in tribute to my mother, Bubby Rachel, who loved everything about flowers – the aroma, the vibrant colours and their magic,” Sarah says. Her mother also loved Baycrest, and was admitted as a resident over a decade ago. Her father was admitted less than a year afterward.
After their admission to Baycrest, Sarah says she and her brother spent every day here visiting their parents.
“I volunteered at Baycrest when I was 12 at my mother’s request. She loved Baycrest. [It] had a very special place in her heart. When she [ended up] needing a nursing home, this was the only spot for her,” she says. “Fortunately, [my parents] were in the same pod on the same [floor]. They could dine and do everything together at Baycrest. But they spent just under 11 years at Baycrest together. My brother and I were here every day, visiting. We lost my father in September 2014. Then, in December 2014, I lost my brother. So when I was thinking of something to make me feel better, I decided I would try and raise some money for Baycrest.”
For those who missed the sale, she says, you still have the opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life at Baycrest.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people about this, and they want to make a donation in honour of Bubby’s Blooms even though they might not [have] been able to get to Baycrest for the sale. Please do a mitzvah – donate! And help support Baycrest with any amount that you can manage,” Sarah urges.
Sarah plans to return to Baycrest and do it all again next year during the Passover holiday.