There are several images from late May and early June of 2022 which will never leave the mind of Cheryl Wood. They are seared into her being.

The first is an image of Robb Elementary School in the days after the shooting in Uvalde. In addition to the mass of flowers, the crosses and the gifts accumulated at the school, there were also open or broken-out windows. White curtains waved slowly in and out of those windows.

A second powerful image came at the cemetery. Wood had gone to the funeral home near the cemetery to collect some old tripods used to support large floral arrangements. The plan was to refurbish (clean and paint) them overnight and have them for use at the funerals yet to be conducted.

As she drove up to the cemetery she had not considered that she would see 21 mounds of dirt – some large mounds for burials not yet conducted and some small mounds strewn with flowers marking those children who had already been put to rest.

For Wood, it was the first time in Uvalde when the enormity of the killings really struck home. 

The most powerful image, however, was the sight of the principal of Robb Elementary in the shop were Wood was volunteering. She was the first person Wood encountered during her volunteer efforts.

“She came in to purchase wreaths for each of the victims’ families, and she sat down and wrote a message to each one,” stated Wood.

Wood described how empty, shocked and distraught the principal looked.

“I had to hug that lady; she will never be the same,” explained Wood.

It seems that life these days is full of events which alter one’s psyche. Perhaps though, for small towns in Texas, no event in recent memory has been as affecting as what happened in Uvalde on May 24, 2022.

Four hundred-fifty miles away, watching the news with her husband, Greg, was Mineola native Cheryl Wood. 

“He knew what I was going to say before I said it,” Cheryl admitted.

“You are going to Uvalde.…” Greg had said.

“I think I can help those people,” she confirmed.

As the world seemed to descend on Uvalde in the aftermath of the killings (law enforcement, media, politicians, celebrities), so too did a volunteer from Mineola.  

There are two flower shops in Uvalde. A quick phone call and an offer of assistance was accepted by the proprietor of the Flower Patch. Another phone call resulted in a receptionist at one hotel taking personal cognizance of securing a room for Cheryl at a neighboring hotel.

With a car full of florist tools – Wood owns and operates Cheryl’s Lake Country Florist – she set off on the eight hour drive.

“I let the GPS get me there,” she related, “I am terrible with a sense of direction.”

But her sense of direction had, in fact, set her on a path of kindness and love, providing comfort, reassurance and condolence to the families of the victims. 

Her intuition was spot-on. Floral wholesalers began sending refrigerated trucks full of flowers to the town. The ordering of floral arrangements originated from points around the world. 

“We, our team of florists, did not want to leave any orders unfilled. It was important for us that each family had their requests met and that all the outside orders were properly created and delivered,” Wood explained.

The team which Wood referred to was the staff of the two local floral shops, and the three volunteer florists who had come to town. Wood was joined by a florist from Houston and one from San Antonio.

On her first day in Uvalde, the families of three victims were in the Flower Patch. Wood became a confidant, a counselor and an interviewer as she met with families to determine what they wanted for the upcoming funerals. 

“The Flower Patch was in an old, large home, so we had room where we could bring families in and meet with them,” she explained. Mindful of her duties as a professional, Wood maintained her demeanor through her work.

She admits, however, that she was especially touched by a photo of one young victim. “His eyes and smile just spoke to me – it looked like he was looking only at me,” she recollected.

Normally, Wood passed by the school grounds first once, then twice a day. Initially, she explained, she had to see where it had occurred. The school sat surrounded by orderly neighborhoods and looked as if it could have been any school in any small town, even Mineola.

After that initial visit she returned, usually twice a day, as a gesture of respect and support. She fashioned a sign ‘Mineola supports Uvalde’ and added it to the impromptu memorial.

For the first few days sleep was hard to get, as Wood was keyed-up from working 14-16 hours a day. But it did come, and the routine had a restorative effect.

Volunteerism abounded in the aftermath of the killings. For days the town of Uvalde was fed for free. 

Some of the best in human nature became evident. There were, of course, exceptions, such as the reporter who pretended to be a family member and found his way into a family meeting at the Flower Patch. Soon thereafter Texas highway patrolmen manned the door at the florist shops and funeral homes.

With a week of floral design and personal support behind her, Cheryl headed home. “There were only four funerals left to be done when I came home,” Wood stated. 

She called the Flower Patch soon after returning home to check on the four upcoming funerals and ask one more time if they didn’t need further help. Wood was home about 24 hours.

“I’ve always been a finisher,” Wood confessed. She headed back to Uvalde.  

Wood admits that she felt somewhat guilty about going back. She explained, “I was personally receiving so much in my heart, and it felt as if it was at the expense of these young children.”

She contemplated over that thought, and then added, “You couldn’t take their hurt away, but you could help the families think that their child was the most special child in the world. You had to let them know that they were loved.”

A better definition of volunteerism could not be stated.

One might wonder if there was any monetary profit from the volunteer effort – not in this floral effort. Wood explained that orders were charged and paid just as normal, but the two floral proprietors in town put all proceeds into a separate account. When the funerals were all complete, the money was dispensed evenly to the 21 families.

When asked about how to best understand horrific events such as the Uvalde killings, Wood was circumspect. “As much as we might want to understand,” she commented, “it is beyond our ability to comprehend.” 

Wood did have a word for anyone considering volunteerism. She explained that it doesn’t matter what the nature of the volunteer effort is. One just needs to take that first step. She highlighted, “The smallest of difference we make when volunteering can change your heart.”