A Special Delivery of Lessons and Love

By Katie McFadden

Flowers, like memories with Alzheimer’s and dementia, might not last forever, but no matter how long they last, upon seeing them for the “first” time, they can send a message that someone cares. Harriet Diamantidis and her 6-year-old daughter, Georgia, in a simple act of kindness, are hoping to spread that message to seniors living with Alzheimer’s and dementia from Rockaway to Long Island.

Earlier this week, Diamantidis, a Rockaway native who still frequents the neighborhood as her mother resides in Belle Harbor, posted on local Facebook groups, asking if anyone knew a senior citizen, especially those with Alzheimer’s and dementia, who would appreciate a free floral arrangement delivered to them, as an act of kindness in memory of her grandmother. Some questioned her intentions, but Diamantidis simply wants to take the opportunity to show seniors that there are people who care, and to instill a lesson in her young daughter about how a good deed can go a long way.

“My daughter and I always like to create flower arrangements for parties and I’m always trying to teach her about giving back and kindness and things like that, so I thought about taking her to a soup kitchen to volunteer, but because she’s only six years old, they won’t let her volunteer that young, so I started to think about what else can we do?” Diamantidis said.

Then she remembered her late grandmother, also named Harriet. “My grandmother had Alzheimer’s and dementia and every time I’d visit her, I’d bring her and her aide flowers and one day I asked her aide if it was good to bring flowers or something else. She said, ‘It’s amazing you bring flowers. She forgets, so every time she sees the flowers, she asks who brought those flowers, and when I say Harriet brought them, she gets happy. Even if they forget, they see flowers and remember again,’” Diamantidis said.

Diamantidis can no longer bring flowers to her grandmother since she passed away about three years ago, but upon thinking of some good deed to do with her daughter, she thought, why not bring that happiness to someone else, in her grandmother’s memory? “It just came to me. We could make our floral arrangements and deliver them to people and make them smile in that moment, and if they forget an hour later, someone might say to them, ‘Do you remember that little girl who brought you flowers?’” she said.

In addition to bringing smiles to seniors’ faces, Diamantidis hopes the effort can bring a lesson to her daughter. “I’m just trying to come up with a way to teach my daughter how to give back and be kind, and a simple thing we can do is bring flowers to someone. Who doesn’t like getting flowers? It makes everyone feel special, so I thought it would be a good thing my daughter could do to teach her about kindness and to teach her a lesson, while making someone smile.”

Diamantidis frequently thinks of ways to help others, including in 2021, when, also inspired by her grandmother, she came up with an idea to help seniors and those who weren’t so internet savvy, to register to get Covid vaccines when they first started rolling out for the vulnerable population. And little Georgia got her first taste of giving back just after Christmas. “Over the holidays, she got so many presents, but something that I wanted her to understand was that not everyone gets those opportunities to get presents, so I said let’s donate some of the toys to kids who aren’t so fortunate,” she said. And they did just that. “We were leaving after dropping off toys, and she said to me, ‘Mommy, that was the best feeling!’ She was so excited. So, I wanted to pick up from that moment and do something else so she can understand the world and kindness, and I believe when teaching them that young, you can make more of an impact,” Diamantidis said.

And next on her list was seniors. “Often the elderly become forgotten. As they get older and they’re not as active, people don’t see them as often, so they become forgotten, but most of us are going to be elderly one day, so I think it’s important to remember them and celebrate them and make them feel seen and heard and appreciated. It’s a nice way to show we’re thinking of them,” Diamantidis said.

When Diamantidis posted the request for seniors she could deliver flowers to in Rockaway and Long Island-based Facebook groups, Diamantidis received a decent response, so she and her daughter quickly got to work, making small flower arrangements in mason jars, with flowers purchased from places like Trader Joe’s. However, as we go to press, they had 54 individuals on the delivery list, including seven in Rockaway, plus suggestions to stop at nursing homes on Long Island and in Rockaway. “A lot of different people reached out,” she said.

With the growing list, Diamantidis realized she needed a little help. She reached out to a florist in Merrick, where she currently resides, and Melissa of Olive It Boutique graciously offered to donate some bouquets to help in their effort.

On a chilly Tuesday, January 7, right after she got out of work, Diamantidis scooped up her daughter, stopped by Olive It to pick up the donated flowers, and off they went to make some special deliveries to some seniors on their list. “It was wonderful!” Diamantidis said. “One senior even asked us to come help fix her stove.” She added that their efforts would continue right into the weekend.

After they get through their list of 54, Diamantidis says they’ll make stops at a nursing home on Long Island, and one in Rockaway, with a goal of giving 50 floral arrangements to residents at each. And then their efforts will continue, as she plans to connect with religious organizations, including her Greek church for more suggestions to make deliveries to. If successful, Diamantidis hopes to make this an annual effort for her and her daughter. “The more people we can do this for, the happier we’ll be,” she said.

If you have a senior in your life, especially one with Alzheimer’s and dementia, who you’d like to get a free flower delivery, Harriet Diamantidis can be reached on Facebook, by emailing hsirot1@gmail.com, or calling 347-266-9787.