Abandoned graveyard mums collected and replanted

Some of the flowers left on graves for Memorial Day got a new life Tuesday. A local youth service group gathered them from cemetery dumpsters, with permission, and put them to good use.

T eenagers from the local youth organization called ” Community Youth in Action ” , CYA or C’YA ( prounounced ‘ see ya ‘ ), spent their summer afternoon planting mums that cemeteries had thrown out.

” We’re just trying to put the flowers back in the community because they’re going to just throw them away and they’re so pretty and they regrow every year so why not just replant them in other people’s houses who want them, ” CYA teen Marcelina Ramos said.

The group’s leader, Becky Latham, said she noticed last year how many good mums were just tossed out, and decided they could be put to better use.

So they gathered about 300 mums and went to dozens of houses Tuesday to plant them.

” It makes me really happy, CYA teen Shaylee Suekel said. ” It warms my heart. I have no other way to put it than it warms my heart, because watching people who are not physically able to plant flowers, or they can’t afford to go out a buy flowers, when you see their faces when we’re planting them, it’s just beautiful. ”

This is just one example of what CYA does.

” There are so many activities and little fun nights that we have, ” Marcelina said. ” It’s also a good way just to get to know other people – just to meet up with people your age and just to hang out and have fun. ”

The mum planting project touched the teens and the recipients.

” We went to this lady’s house and told her we were there to bring her flowers and her eyes started to well up and she just cried and seemed really emotional about it and I gave her a hug and it made my day, ” Shaylee said.

CYA has weekly activities. T hey invite all teens to join them. Go to their ” Community Youth in Action ” Facebook page for more information.