Giving a flower to another is a simple gesture of kindness, and Utah Valley University students Lane Bockenstedt and Zach Mitchell share that simple gesture with thousands.
Giving a flower to another is a simple gesture of kindness, and Utah Valley University students Lane Bockenstedt and Zach Mitchell share that simple gesture with thousands. Through their non-profit organization/student club Hugs Not Hate, co-founders Bockenstedt and Mitchell have given away over 10,000 flowers to UVU students.
Their mission is simple — unify the UVU community, especially students going through difficult circumstances.
“My goal is just trying to bring people together — help people feel loved and seen,” Mitchell said.
The duo shares their themes of love and compassion by giving away flowers to any student who wants them. Fostering a sense of unity inspired the organization’s name. As Bockenstedt puts it, “We landed on the name Hugs Not Hate because we want people to overlook the differences that we have … being able to look past [the differences] and see each other for who we are.”
Bockenstedt and Mitchell started gathering flowers for Hugs Not Hate by pooling their resources and purchasing what they could. In addition, Bockenstedt began reaching out to local businesses for support. After getting the flowers themselves, they started putting them in the hands of their fellow students. On September 26, they set up in the front entrance to UVU with buckets of various flowers. As students walked by, they had the opportunity to interact with members of Hugs Not Hate stationed there. Students picked out the flowers that they wanted, and the organization member helped assemble the bouquet.
On top of giving away flowers to individuals who came to them, Bockenstedt and company went directly to others on campus. With wagons full of flowers in tow, they approached both students and faculty across campus.
Bockenstedt said presenting faculty with flowers was particularly rewarding, describing how some faculty members teared up and said, “I really needed this.”
Many in the UVU community expressed appreciation for the gift Hugs Not Hate shared. After receiving a substantial bouquet, one student commented, “It just brightens up your day, and it brings a smile to your face that just lasts for the rest of the day.”
“It’s definitely an act of unity … just to see people together,” another flower recipient said.
As Mitchell traveled across campus, he described seeing several individuals with their flowers: “They’re looking at them and just showing them off to people, and it’s super cool.”
Receiving a flower and then sharing time with someone else absolutely fulfils the mission of love and connection that the name Hugs Not Hate inspires.
To learn more about Hugs Not Hate and other UVU Clubs, visit https://www.uvu.edu/clubs/.
