Continuing a legacy of giving

A high school graduate is hoping to keep her grandfather's legacy of kindness alive by continuing to give bouquets of flowers to strangers.

Jory Giesbrecht is the granddaughter of Kim Morfoot, the man who kept his wife's memory alive by randomly giving away bouquets of flowers here in Winnipeg since her passing in 2017. Now, he finds himself unable to continue this act of kindness. 

"He's doing okay. He's been in and out of the hospital with some health issues. He had an infection on his leg which means he's had trouble walking," says Giesbrecht. 

Watching her grandpa spreading kindness to strangers, and going on a few of the rides, Giesbrecht decided to continue it even if her grandpa couldn't. 

"Two weeks ago someone messaged my mom, asking if her dad was still handing out flowers. He hasn't been because of his leg. Even though he can't do it anymore, I thought it would be a good idea to continue it."

That's when Giesbrecht came up with the Kim and Bonnie Flower Foundation. Bonnie is her late grandmother. 

"The last time he handed out flowers I went with him and it made people so happy. They were shocked at how he was so kind and giving. It was a really positive thing and crazy how much it touched people."

After a few of the recipients heard about Giebrecht's grandma who passed away, they were brought to tears. 

"He hands out flowers in her memory. Nowadays we need positivity more than ever and kindness."

Giesbrecht has decided to choose certain days to hand out bouquets in the future, in honour of her grandparents. Anyone interested can donate to the foundation which can be found on Facebook.

"The second week of August we're going to do a big flower day. Our plan is to do a day every season to hand out a bunch of flowers and spread kindness. The next one will be October, and then January," she says.

Giesbrecht's whole family will join in the events to come. 

"It will be me and probably a couple of my siblings, I have four younger siblings. My mom, she's a social worker and she might bring a kid who was interested in the idea."