Each week at the South County Service Center, Karin leans over a long table covered in stems and vases. With practiced care, she sorts through blooms—roses, carnations, daisies—donated by Trader Joe's. She snips, trims, and arranges until each small bud vase holds something beautiful.
Then she delivers them. One by one, room by room, to Empath Suncoast Hospice's inpatient unit at Bayfront Medical Center.
Karin has been doing this quietly and faithfully for more than two years. Before that, she volunteered with Tidewell for nearly a decade and worked as a hospice social worker in Texas. Hospice care has been part of her story since her twenties, and it shows. She works with reverence. She treats her floral volunteer role like a job. And she sees beauty not only in the arrangements, but in the way they are received.
The vases are a contribution from our Resale Shops. Karin sanitizes each one, marks the bottom with "Hospice Save," and smiles at the idea that one might make its way back to her someday—donated, reused, and returned full circle.
After moving to Florida, what drew her to Tidewell Hospice and then Suncoast Hospice wasn't the idea of making floral arrangements. She actually thinks she's not very good at it! It was a feeling. "I went from organization to organization and couldn't find the right fit," she said. "But when you find where you belong, it's like a puzzle piece being put in."
Karin considers this a job, not just a volunteer role, but she doesn't look for praise. She looks for meaning. Her weekly ritual brings color, connection, and a gentle reminder that in difficult times, small acts of care matter.
To Karin, Trader Joe's, and every volunteer who lifts others in quiet ways, thank you. You are part of what makes Full Life Care more than a mission. You make it beautiful.
Click here to find out more about how you can share your gifts and interest as a volunteer with Empath Health.
