By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — A North End shop is handing out free bouquets today with the condition that you gift the flowers to someone else as a way to spread kindness after a painful week in the city.
Liz Schaer, the owner of Rooted, 1408 N. Main St., said she had been struggling with the emotional toll of seeing a string of tragedies unfold this week, leaving five people dead in two separate attacks.
“It’s just been such a hard thing to wrap my mind around,” Schaer said. “What could I possibly be doing to make a small difference during this time?”
Related: Rockford mourns, honors those killed in attack
After stirring through sleeplessness Wednesday night, Schaer reached out to friend Lori Eickhoff to revive a pay-it-forward style tradition that Eickhoff had started at London Avenue Designs, a downtown Rockford shop that closed in 2022 as Eickhoff dealt with health issues.
“I think that we all feel pretty down from everything that’s happened over the past week,” Schaer said. “I’m just a firm believer that if I make one drop in a bucket it’s going to spread kindness, and then other people are going to put more drops in the bucket and pretty soon it’s full.”
The pair built more than 100 bouquets by hand and started giving them away at noon today at Rooted. They asked you to agreed to pay the gift forward. The roses for the bouquets were donated by Bill Doran Co., and the shop had given away all its bouquets by before 3 p.m.
“We want to bring some joy back to the community after such a difficult, heavy week,” Eickhoff said. “It doesn’t fix or replace the lives that were taken, but if we can make this place safer by being kind to each other I think that’s important, too.”
Dozens of people gathered at the North End shop shortly after the giveaway began. Word had spread on social media, including a message shared on the city of Rockford’s official Facebook page.
“It’s a great way to spread kindness, spread some light into things going on,” Lauren Brun said. “As a community, we have to find ways to come together and support each other in times like this. This was just one way a small local business stepped up to do that.”
Brun and her sister, Julia, are Rockford natives now living in Chicago. They said they were devastated by the news that came out of the city this week and wanted to be a part of Rooted’s giveaway as a show of support for their hometown.
“We still have really good ties to this community, and we love Rockford so much that even though we don’t live here anymore,” Julia Brun said. “It seemed like something really special to do in light of everything that happened.”
They said one of the bouquets would go to their mother, Angie, who works in criminal justice. The other to their aunt.
The giveaway is another example of how the community is trying to come to grips with a mass killing on Wednesday, which came just three days after a teenager was stabbed to death at random while working at Walmart. A vigil was held Thursday to pray for and honor Jacob Schupbach, 23, Romona Schupbach, 63, Jenna Newcomb, 15, and Jay Larson, 49, — who were killed in the attack Wednesday — and Jason Jenkins, 18, who was killed on Sunday at Walmart.
Yolanda Golden said she has a friend who lives in the southeast Rockford neighborhood where the attack happened. She thought Rooted’s giveaway was a good opportunity to spread kindness, give back to customers and celebrate Easter.
“It’s one of those things that puts a smile on your face in the face of darkness, that there are people out here who still care about the community,” Golden said.
Schaer said she hopes their giveaway will encourage more small acts of kindness once all the bouquets are gone. The goal is infectious positivity.
“It’s really less about us doing it and more the magic is the people who pick them up and deliver them,” Eickhoff said. “No matter what terrible things happen we’re always stronger together.”
Know before you go | Rooted
Where: 1408 N. Main St., Rockford
Hours: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday
Online: rootedrkfd.com
Contact: rootedrkfd@gmail.com; 815-494-3649
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas