COMMUNITY
Second Bloom MV
Sharing with Community the Healing Power of Flowers
By Abby Remer
Second Bloom brings the immense joy of glorious flowers, which would otherwise be discarded, to many Islanders at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, Island Elderly Housing, Camp Jabberwocky, and the Center for Living, among many others.
Second Bloom was the brainchild of Rae Manson Carter. After a wedding at the East Chop Lighthouse in 2022, she noticed that the rental company employee was discarding all the beautiful blooms that had graced the arch under which the wedding couple had been married.
“He was snipping all the flowers off and throwing them on the ground, and they were stunning,” Carter recalls. “He didn’t want them, so I got big buckets for the flowers and gathered them into six to eight huge, gorgeous bouquets. I recruited my husband to deliver them, and everyone was more than thrilled.” That afternoon, it struck Carter how this kind of waste was occurring at weddings across the Island and how many people could be enjoying them after the celebrations had ended.
“I thought I was onto something, so I threw the idea to a few people, who immediately got on board.” Carter established Second Bloom as a nonprofit, developed a website, and contacted florists, wedding planners, and venues. The response was overwhelming. “They were more than happy we were taking and sharing with the community because otherwise the flowers were literally going into the trash.”
Volunteers are critical to Second Bloom, from collecting to arranging to delivering the blossoms. Last season alone, they collected from 50 weddings, and at the height of the season, there are typically 3 to 5 events every weekend, so coordination is key.
Kathy O’Loughlin, who regularly collects the flowers from the venues, explains: “We try to get them in water as quickly as possible because in the summer, it’s generally hot and the flowers will just wilt.” Originally, the volunteers reassembled the blooms in Carter’s kitchen. But as of 2025, Stillpoint offered them a home. O’Loughlin says, “After we back our cars up and unload, the volunteers get to work. It’s an assembly line of tables with water buckets, vases, and snippers. In some cases, it takes us a couple of hours. But last September and October, when it’s a really big wedding time, we were picking up at 11 am and there until 5 or 6 p.m. in the evening”.
The nonprofit is always looking for volunteers of any duration. All are welcome, and no prior experience in flower arranging is required. The core team provides an informal few-minute training, but Carter notes, “The flowers are so gorgeous, it wouldn’t matter if you stick them in a tin can.” Lex Mercier adds about the atmosphere, “When everyone is at work, there’s so much emotion because we all just love flowers. The group has a tremendous amount of fun watching each other. Before you know it, people are smiling at the bouquets they have made.”
When it’s time to leave, typically five or six volunteers take the flowers to different locations. In addition to the locations mentioned, there is MV Hospice and Palliative Care, The Red House, Island Food Pantry, Island Grown Initiative, Harbor Homes, the Councils on Aging, the town libraries, and the Chicken Alley Thrift Store, which generously donates vases. Some places, such as the Center for Living, have requested in the past that flowers be delivered loose, along with vases, so that seniors can create their own arrangements.
There’s no doubt that Second Bloom’s contributions make a difference. Merrick Carreiro from the Island Food Pantry shares, “One highlight from our first year in partnership with Second Bloom was letting children at the pantry give their moms flowers. It was so meaningful to see them care-fully select the perfect bouquet to show their love. We have also been able to share the bounty of this non-profit with our homebound delivery clients, many of whom were in tears at the gesture. One woman said to the volunteer, “I haven’t been given flowers in 30 years!’ This is the kind of stuff that makes all the hard work worthwhile. And Claire Seguin, President and COO of the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, says, “We are deeply grateful to Rae and the Second Bloom team for sharing flowers with our patients, residents, and staff at the hospital and Windemere and Navagator Homes. It’s a simple gesture that makes a profound difference, bringing moments of beauty and connection when they are needed most.”
Carter is thrilled by how much happiness the whole endeavor brings. “We have the joy of working with flowers, and we also get the joy of delivering them because the recipients are so happy. But also, the venue, the wedding planners, and even the wedding couple are just thrilled not to have these blossoms wasted. For the couple, flowers were a special part of their day and now continue to bring joy to more people. I just don’t know too many people who don’t like flowers.”
For more information, to make a donation, or to volunteer, visit secondbloommv.org.