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| Byron Davis with his sister Clara |
It all began with a mother’s
intent to keep her family active during the stay at home initiative by deep
cleaning their house, one room at a time. “I named it the ‘COVID Clean Out,’”
stated Stacy Davis.
On an afternoon about a month
ago, while tackling the kitchen, Stacy and her 9-year old son Byron came across
papered flower discs made by a former classmate given as a Valentine’s Day
gift. “Let’s plant these in our flower garden,” Stacy suggested to Byron. They
did, but Byron was inspired to go a step further. “I want to make these discs
and give them away to all the essential workers to bring some happiness to
them.”
Immediately, they began to
search the house to see if they had all the materials needed to make the
homemade plantable paper embedded with flower seeds. Stacy and Byron discovered
they had enough material to make 50 discs and decided to name their
philanthropic efforts, Byron’s Bloom Bombs.
The family, which includes
Byron’s 5-year-old sister, Clara and his father, Jeremie, got busy instantly.
This also included a surprise from Bryon’s grandmother, June Davis, when she
personally delivered several specially designed “Byron’s Bloom Bomb” t-shirts
to the Davis home.
A Facebook page was also
established to help spread the word and make Byron’s vision a reality. In the
first post, dated April 10 at 6:10 p.m., Byron, who is a third-grade student at
Windham Primary School shared his thoughts, introducing the idea. “In looking
for things to do while stuck at home, my mom and I came upon making papered
flower discs. In seeing these, I thought what better way to show those on the
COVID front lines that we appreciate them. Flowers always bring brightness to
someone, so my hope is that these bloom bombs can do the same.”
Stacy was stunned when she
woke up the next morning. “I checked the Facebook page and was shocked to see
that we already had 100 likes,” Stacy said. “The news and support that Byron
has received has quite literally….’blown up’….excuse the pun.”
And explode it has! In less
than a month, Byron’s Bloom Bombs mission has given away a total 950 paper
flower discs to essential workers in and around the greater Windham area. So
far, they have delivered to the following locations: Shaws, CVS, Walgreen,
Walmart, Maine Medical Center, Spring Harbor Hospital and Maine Urology. The
family has also mailed Byron Bloom Bombs to friends and family members who work
on the COVID front line in Madison, Fort Kent and Lewiston.
To ensure they reach as many
essential workers in the area as possible, they enlist the help from others
through their Facebook page by doing drawings for free homemade bloom bombs,
requesting that some of the papered flower discs are given away at a store or
medical facility near the winner’s hometown community.
Byron and his family have also
highlighted local sport favorites and have shown appreciation to teachers
during this COVID-19 time.
When asked what he has learned
the most about his charitable adventure, Byron stated, “Front line workers do
not always mean they work in a hospital. It includes people who work at grocery
stores, gas stations and convenience stores.”
Byron was also quick to
mention his gratitude to Ms. Fries, his third-grade teacher. “She has always
been his cheerleader – always helpful and always encouraging,” Stacy said.
He and his family also
recognize and are grateful for the incredible support and encouragement they
have received from the community – that has now expanded from as far north as
Presque Isle, to as far south as Connecticut.
“Never in our wildest dreams
did we think this would take off as it has, but we are thrilled. It is because
of the front like workers and your encouragement that we will continue this
project to show our appreciation,” Stacy wrote on Facebook recently.
To support and encourage
Byron’s vision, please be sure to like and share the Byron Bloom Bombs Facebook
page.
