By Gia Myers • Posted October 3, 2024

Patricia Gallagher, founder of the Happy Flower Day Project, loves “surprising people” with acts of kindness.

She has often surprised elderly people in nursing homes by delivering them bouquets of beautiful flowers. She also enjoys surprising people with flowers at fast food restaurants, at bus or train stations, standing in line at food pantries, and sometimes people simply walking down the street.

A parishioner at Corpus Christi Parish in Lansdale, Gallagher, 73, is a mother, grandmother, author, and former teacher. She has a BA in education from Villanova University and an MBA from St. Joseph’s University.

In 2009 Gallagher, with the help of her family, began her mission of spreading kindness.

Having raised four children, Gallagher found herself an empty nester and felt lonely during the Christmas season that year. She suggested to her then 85-year-old mother and then college-aged daughter that they visit a local nursing home to read the book “Twas the Night Before Christmas” to the residents.

This act of kindness was so well received that Gallagher was inspired to continue and her kindness ministry in the Philadelphia region was born.

It started with stuffed animals, not flowers, at first. In four years Gallagher distributed 11,000 stuffed animals – acquired from friends and those who responded to advertisements on Craigslist – to hundreds of nursing homes. She found that the elderly residents enjoyed having something that they could hold and cuddle. She saw that it gave them comfort.

“I’ve always liked helping elderly people,” she said.

Gallagher also acknowledges that her Catholic faith has encouraged her to help others. She finds inspiration in Saint Teresa of Calcutta’s quote, “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”

In 2013, her kindness ministry evolved into delivering flowers, and the Happy Flower Day Project was born. Gallagher called local stores to ask if they had any unsold flowers that they’d be willing to donate.

She arranged to pick up donated flowers and then deliver them to nursing homes and places where she felt people needed some cheer.

An author with 45 book titles to her name on Amazon, she wrote a book in 2020 called “Keep Calm and Flower On” about the joy of giving away free flowers during the COVID pandemic.

In this book she wrotethat giving away fresh, recycled, colorful flowers to strangers is “free and fun” and “is the recipe for a glorious day.”

Gallagher and the Happy Flower Day Project began receiving attention from local and then national media. She appeared in magazines like Women’s World, and on television programs including “Oprah,” “Today with Hoda and Jenna” and “Live with Kelly and Ryan.”

In 2021 Gallagher wrote a book called “150 Ways to Sprinkle Kindness in Your Community,” detailing how others could start Happy Flower Day Projects in their communities.

In April of this year Gallagher paused her participation in the Happy Day Flower Project for health reasons – lifting heavy boxes and traveling long distances were taking their toll – though she still stays active by working on kindness projects with children with special needs and young adults diagnosed with autism.

Gallagher wants to spread her kindness ministry to others, particularly younger generations, so that a legacy of kindness continues for many years to come.

She hopes to speak to students, community groups, retreats and any groups of people who want to spread kindness and are looking for inspirational ideas.

“I want to be a speaker and show other organizations how they can do this on a small scale,” she  said. She wants people to know that they “don’t have to start big” or have a lot of money to work with.

For more information on the Happy Flower Day Project, visit https://www.happyflowerday.org/ . To book Gallagher for speaking engagements, visit https://www.happyflowerday.org/contact .