Fab Flowers Kyabram Florist and Nursery owner Sue Walley says small acts of generosity can have significant impacts on the community.
Photo by
Ryan Bellingham
A local business owner has highlighted the big impact supporting small operations can have on the wider community.
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Sue Walley, who has run Fab Flowers Kyabram Florist and Nursery for 23 years, gives back to the community in multiple ways.
Her business provides vouchers to community groups and sporting clubs, donates flowers to the local aged care centres and hospital and contributes prizes to both golf clubs and the Kyabram Garden Club.
It sets up plants for graduations and deb balls, has given products to the community garden on Lake Rd and has provided sponsorship to Kyabram Fauna Park.
Ms Walley herself has fundraised for the Kyabram P-12 College chaplaincy program for 24 years and continues to organise events such as trivia nights.
“I guess I’ve always been a person to give back to the people around me,” she said.
“You just give back to where you live and it goes around. But I think there’s been, maybe the last 10 years, a bit of a disconnection.”
Perhaps spurred by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms Walley said she had noticed a broader societal shift towards less social connection.
In a recent Facebook post, she showed how support for her business contributed to improving the lives of local residents at Warramunda Village and Sheridan Aged Care who don’t receive visitors.
The flowers donated to the residents help brighten their day, and Ms Walley said the small impacts of giving also gave her great enjoyment.
“They really, really love them,” she said.
“But also, from a business point of view, it’s good to get your name out there, to be known. If you want people to support you, you’ve got to support them back.”
Far from looking for praise or recognition, Ms Walley said she shared the post as a reaction to the increasing disconnection she noticed.
Sue Walley gives back to the community in multiple ways.
Photo by
Ryan Bellingham
She has lived in town since she was a teen and said that, by nature, Kyabram was a very generous community.
She likened the community to a family and said it was important to continue looking after one another.
“To use a gardening analogy, you’ve got to sow the seeds to get anything back,” she said.
“Otherwise, you end up with either bare ground or a few weeds.”
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