SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — Dolly's passing has brought many together at murals, venues and other places that represent her.
That includes a beloved statue in Sevier County, where many left beautiful gifts — gifts that keep on giving.
After hundreds left flowers at her statue in Sevierville, the county reached out to one nonprofit to make sure they were going to good use.
"These beautiful flowers out to pay tribute to Dolly would just be sitting out and wilting, but with them being dropped off by volunteers and donated to us, our network of over 300 volunteers are able to process them," explained Ally Slavick, the executive director of Knoxville-based Random Acts of Flowers.
The nonprofit repurposes and donates flowers from weddings, funerals, grocery stores and celebrations of life to give to patients in local hospitals.
"Any individual that's experiencing injury, illness, battling disease...we're there to brighten their day and hopefully bring a little comfort and cheer," said Slavick.
The nonprofit was able to arrange 240 bouquets from Dolly's donations so far.
"I've seen, over a lot of social media places, people talking about how with Dolly gone, the world has a little less sparkle in it. And this just goes to show you that there's still so much sparkle — it's just shown in different ways. And it's all paying tribute to her," said Slavick.
The nonprofit will continue to gather and repurpose flowers left at Dolly's statue.
If you are in the East Tennessee area and want your wedding or funeral flowers to be used in a similar fashion, you can reach out to Random Acts of Flowers.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at nikki.hauser@newschannel5.com.
Kelsey Gibbs brings us a powerful story of humanity, compassion, and love in action while showing us the hard and lifesaving work our officers do daily. Nashville is lucky to have people like Lt. Hotz wearing the badge.
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