News Archives

• October Wine & Cheese Reception: On October 12th, one of the hottest days in Pasadena all year, 135 + people enjoyed looking at the 2012 parade floats; tasting good wine and nibbling on great food while meeting new people.  We heard from Monica Weisbrich, President of Bare Root; Sally Bixby, RN president-elect of the Tournament of Roses; and Chris Lofthouse, President of Phoenix Floats our float designer/builder.  It was a fun event and you could feel the energy in the air. View the slide show of our fun event.
• Sweet Success Program: Professional Education Center (PEC) put on its annual Sweet Success Program-Diabetes Research conference.  We were lucky to be able to bring the message about the Nurses Float by having an exhibit table; having our name on a rolling listing of exhibitors and having our brochure included in each registration packet.  Nurses and dietitians from all over the country attended this excellent conference. Thank you PEC.
• Prestige Medical Becomes Sponsor of the Nurses Float

  
  They sent a financial donation, added information about the project to their website and sent an email to all their customers and business partners. Thank you so much Prestige Medical for your support of this project.

• More Donors Getting Involved: The Association of Clinical Nurse Leaders San Francisco/Marin Chapter have donated $1,000 to the Nurses Float project. We are so grateful for your generous support of this project. This helps us get closer to our goal.

  Here are some other new donors:

  The Armenian American Nurses Association; 11 AORN Chapters around the country; Illinois Council of Emergency Nurses Association; Shore Health System of Maryland; Greater Los Angeles ONS Chapter; California Nurse Practitioners #17 donate monthly and quarterly; Los Angeles Home Health Council to name just a few. Visit Our Sponsor Page to see all of our donors.

• Next Year At This Time???

  The Nurses Float will be scheduled for safety testing around this time next year (August 2012). Every float must undergo at least one if not two rigorous driving safety tests. They perform maneuvers on the streets of Pasadena just like those that must be done on parade day. Several members of the Nurses Float board will be attending these test maneuvers to see what "our" float will be going through. We will keep you posted about what we learn.

• Check Out Our Online Store

  We still have luggage tags available. Artwork by nurse Kathy Leland makes great special gifts. You can also send an eBouquet to a friend and get 5 additional free ones.  Take a minute to honor that special nurse you know, work with, or one that may have cared for you. All of this just click on ONLINE STORE.

• Dennis Lundgren Wins I-Pad 3G

  

  Dennis is the happy winner of the super I-Pad at the NTI in Chicago.  Dennis owns Massaging Insoles and was so excited about being the winner!  Congratulations to Dennis.

  More photos on our Activities Page.

• F4TF goes to AACN-NTI: About 7,000 nurses attended the NTI in Chicago in early June 2011.

  We had an opportunity drawing for an I-pad 3G and here are the potential winners waiting for Sally Bixby to draw the winning ticket. 

  

  See the slide show on our Activities Page.

• Thank You Nurse Week 2011 Donors: Our coffers increased by $12,000! Thanks to Pomona Valley Hospital, Catholic Healthcare West, Providence Health Systems, Maryland Dorchester Ambulatory & Surgical Services, and Pam Manion for making this a successful experience.

  To see more about these contributors visit the Nurse Week Page.

• Spread The Word About the Nurses Float: We are still finding nurses that don't know about the Nurses Float Project so we are asking all of you who have a Facebook or Twitter account to send out a message to all the people on your friends list and tweet list telling them about the project.

  Share what a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity it is and send them a link to this website to donate $10.00 online. We would appreciate your help.

  Our goal of $300,000 by the end of 2011 is still a ways away. Thanks for your support!

• Sally Bixby Inducted Into Honor Society of Nursing

  

  On April 8th, 2011 Sally was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau-Honor Society of Nursing. This is a very prestigous honor.  She is a member of the Iota Sigma Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau. 

• AONE Host Nurses Float Exhibit

  The American Organization of Nurse Executives provided exhibit space for the Nurses Float project. We were able to get the word out to over 2000 chief nurse executives. The meeting was held in San Diego April 13-15th, 2011. Thanks to AONE.

• AORN 2011 Congress in Philadelphia: 5,100 nurses and 5,200 exhibitors helped raised $3,000 for the Nurses float. Thanks AORN!
• Nurses Float to Exhibit in Philadelphia March 19-24: AORN has given exhibit space to the Nurses Float. Thanks AORN.
• Hyeok "Kate" Park, RN honored at the ACNL Convention:

  

  Kate is a student at UCLA and Alpha Consulting Group donated $250 in her name to the Nurses Float. Visit our Celebrate Nurses page to see those nurses who have been honored.
• Nurse Instructor wins 2 tickets to the 2012 Rose Parade: Jean Shackelford, Instructor at CSU Chico, had the winning ticket at the opportunity drawing at the ACNL Conference. Thanks for your support of the Nurses Float!
• Hispanic Nurses of Los Angeles Welcome Nurses Float: On March 4th the Nurses Float will be at the Hispanic Nurses meeting in LA. They have been big supporters of the float and are once again this year. Thank you so much.
• AORN Chapters Continue to Support Nurses Float: 26 AORN Chapters have donated $5,800 dollars. Yeah! Thank you so much!
• Iota Sigma Chapter of ySigma Theta Tau International Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA Donate To The Float: Sally Bixby spoke at the Fall Induction of the Chapter and over $700 was raised. Thanks Iota Sigma!
• California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems has donated $500 to Nurses and their 2013 Parade Float. Thank you CHA.
• CareMeridian, a partner of the Mentor Network, has donated $5,000 to Nurses and their 2013 Parade Float. Thank you CareMeridian.
• Raffle at Torrance Memorial: Kiss Me basket made by volunteer Suzy Ritchey raffled off in her surgery department at Torrance Memorial Hospital to raise money for the float. Tell us what you are doing to support this historic project. Thanks Suzy.
• Scholarships & Grants: Did you know that a major goal of this project is offer scholarships and grants to nurses? From the beginning this has been our goal to support nurses with monies not used to build and decorate the float. Please support this once-in-a-life time international event and provide support to nurses.

• Seeking Facebook Friends: If you have a Facebook page, please send out a request to all your friends to come to our web site and donate $5.00. We want to raise $200,000 by June 1st. Help us do that! Help us use the power of Facebook! Join us on Facebook. With 3 million nurses we could give Lady Gaga some competition.

• Nurse Week May 6-12: This year donate to the Nurses Float project in the name of each nurse. Get more details.

• Seeking Volunteers: We are looking for individuals who are willing to work with us to influence the decision-makers at your work place to financially support the Nurses Float project. Please contact us if you will give us some of your time, talent, and treasure to make the Nurses Float a reality.

• Send a Greeting for Less: Now send eBouquets and Printable Cards with a $5 donation. Send one to a friend or colleague! Share the news about the Nurses Float!
• Honor & Celebrate a Nurse: The nurses who are being honored on our Celebrate Nurses page are so touched when they receive notice that someone has made a donation in their name to the Nurses Float project. Consider creating this type of glee by making a donation.
• Watch Our Video: Sally Bixby, RN, tells the story of the Nurses Float and its significance in the 2013 Rose Parade. Watch it here

• Philippine Nurses Association of Southern California Become Sponsors of the Float: The PNASC becomes the first specialty organization to become a Sponsor of the Nurses Float at the Rose Christian Dior Level.

  They are excited about this opportunity to showcase nurses and the profession of nursing at this international event.

• Rehabilitation Nurses Society: Sally Bixby spoke at their holiday luncheon and they raised money for the float.

• SCPSC: Southern California Patient Safety Collaborative Colloquium supported the quilt raffle and the Nurses Float project with their donations at their recent meeting in Los Angeles.
• Nurses Float Visits Orlando: At the Managing Today’s OR Suite Conference attendees support the float with over $800 in donations. See photos of the Conference
• Design of Float Begins: Several weeks ago the Board of Directors met with Phoenix Floats to begin the important process of creating a float that tells the story of nurses and the profession of nursing. Stay tuned. More about Phoenix Floats
• The publication Working Nurse Magazine published an article entitled "Nurses: A Cut Above the Rest" and it is all about the Nurses Float. They have given up permission to make this article available for you to read.
• Live Parade + Healing Plants & Flowers = Nurses Float: The Rose Parade is the only live parade in the world. Everything on the nurses float must be covered with a living "thing". There are exceptions like the skateboarding dog track that required special dispensation from the Tournament of Roses Committee.
  Did you know that flowers, plants, and seeds have healing properties? The pharmaceutical Digitalis comes from the plant called Foxglove. Bach Flowers are natural remedies. The 38 original flowers are carefully and expertly grown and then processed to create healing flower essence remedies. Many flowers used on our own Nurses Float may have healing powers! What an awesome connection! We have a new nurse volunteer expert, Dr. Martha Libster, on the healing properties of botanicals and plants and she is going to share her knowledge with us. How exciting. We are starting with the Rose.
  
• Volunteer Program: The Nurses Float is a large project and we ask seeking high-energy volunteers to help us raise money. You can live anywhere, work anywhere, all we ask is that you make a commitment to raise money for this once-in-a-life-time event in your community. We have made it easy for you by creating a Volunteer Kit all online which can be downloaded and replicated. We would love to hear from you so visit our new Volunteer Fund-Raiser Page and get STARTED. Also you can meet our first volunteer Suzy Richey, RN, ONC, CNOR, CRNFA, from Torrance, California. This was her idea—so join Suzy in supporting this wonderful nurse-focused event.
• AORN of Reno donates to the float.
• Quad City Chapter of AORN donates to the float
• AORN of San Francisco and Marin donate to the float
• AORN of Omaha Area donates to the Float
• Chicago Nurses Connect with Nurses Float Project. We are learning the power of this project to connect nurses. A woman named Frances made an online donation and from that we made a connection and learned about the Nurse Parade. And, we thought we were the first to have a Nurses Float on this grand scale. We were wrong! Chicago, Illinois had their very own Nurse Parade from 1949-1958. Learn More.
• Two Nurses Honored-- A contributor has donated in honor of two nurses who supported her through a difficult health challenge. Find out who those Nurses are.

• Happy New Year! Did you watch the Tournament of Roses Parade? Sure hope so. What beautiful floats. The Board of Directors had an opportunity to visit two float designers in early December and then again on December 30th. What a difference in how the floats looked in a matter of a few weeks. Most of the decorating was completed and it was thrilling to see so many volunteers working to create these beautiful floats.

  The theme this year was “A Cut above the Rest”! Each float, and there were about 42, was sending a message to the viewers and it was to honor someone, something, or an event that was a cut above the rest. The float in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen was a prefect example. The float honored these special airmen, paying tribute to the military men who served in World War II, letting the world know they are a “cut above the rest.” Another example was the New Life Rises Float which honored the new life that emerges when donors make the gift of life possible. Transplant donors and recipients are a Cut above the Rest.

  Nurses are a Cut above the Rest and are deserving of this level of recognition and appreciation. Let us Honor all Nurses for caring for each patient and making a difference in each life with a beautiful memorable Nurses Float on January 1, 2013.

  It was fascinating to see how the designers—structural and floral—created a float to send the message A Cut above the Rest. Join us by supporting the Nurses Float which will tell everyone watching that Nurses are a cut above the rest too. This will be made possible through your donations. Enjoy a behind the scenes look of the parade by watching our beautiful slide show of the floats getting ready to travel down Colorado Blvd.

• Thank you cards to write? Purchase a set of notecards, by nurse Kathy Leland.
• Association of periOperative Nurses Chapters respond to a Chapter Challenge from the AORN of Orange County. See who has risen to the challenge
• The Board of Directors of the Nurses Float Project send our heartfelt thanks to all nurses thanking you for all you do for patients each and every day. We especially want to thank the nurses, our physician friends, and friends of nurses who have donated. In the year-and-half we have been "officially" fund raising you have helped us raise $20,000.00 bringing us that much closer to the reality of a Nurses Float. Have a wonderful and blessed holiday.

• New York Nurses State Association becomes first State Nurses Association to donate.  We are so grateful to the NYNSA for their generous contribution to the Nurses Float.  Check out our Sponsor page to see who has donated.

• Kathy Leland, RN Friendship painting and note cards are popular with our site visitors.  Check out all her paintings at our online store.

• American Nurses Association communicated information about the Nurses Float in their publication The American Nurse; with an online article at www.nursingworld.org, and to all their affiliate members. We are very grateful to the ANA.

• Need Your Financial Support:  To make the Nurses Float a reality we need your financial support.  Please make your donation today and we would love a yearly commitment for the next 3 years.  This is a one of a kind event for nurses and our profession and we appreciate your support more than you know.

• California Association of Nurse Practitioners, Greater Los Angeles Oncology Nursing Society Chapter, and Bryant Pickering Family Trust become sponsors of the Nurses Float
• Going to a meeting? Getting together with friends? Take the Nurses Float brochure (pdf) with you and encourage people to support the project through their donations.
• National Association of Hispanic Nurse— Los Angeles Chapter donates $1,400 to the Nurses Float
• Quarterly Newsletter Starts. This month we will be sending out our first quarterly newsletter to our current and future donors and all volunteers. This will keep you informed about the Nurses Float project. Sign up now to get your issue.
• Nurses Week May 6-12, 2009. Support the Nurses Float with purchases of Leland Studio art work, affirmation cards, Nurses Float luggage tags, and official Tournament of Roses shirts from 2008.
• Association of California Nurse Leader’s presents Nurses Float project at their February 7-11th meeting in Monterey, California. Sally Bixby told the 400+ attendees of this conference about the Nurses Float and they opened their hearts and pockets. They raised over $2,400.00 for the Float. Thank you ACNL.
• California Association of Nurse Practitioners Chapter 17 holds a 50/50 raffle at their February 26, 2009 meeting. Sally Bixby and members of the Bare Root Board of Directors spend an evening with these awesome nurses. Thank you CANP!
• Operating Room Nursing Council of California starts AORN Chapter Challenge. There are 29 Chapter in California and the Orange County Chapter was the first to donate to the Float and they have issued a challenge to the others to match or top their $500.00 donation
• Nurses Float Now On Facebook. Visit the Nurses Float Wall at www.facebook.com. YouTube you are next!
• CCI News Personal Commitment to Extraordinary Care Spring 2009. The Competency & Credentialing Institute publishes an article on Sally Bixby and the Nurses Float in their Spring 2009 Newsletter. You can read the article here.
• Nurse Kathy Leland who is also an artist has generously donated signed prints of her paintings to the Nurse Float. When she heard about the Nurses Float she contacted us immediately to make this generous offer. With every purchased print, the Nurse Float gets 50% of the profits. We are so grateful to Kathy Leland. Visit our online store today and get your gifts for Nurses Week and Mother’s Day coming May 2009.
• Association of California Nurse Leaders becomes a Patron of the Nurses Float
• Association of Operating Room Nurses (AORN) of Orange County Chapter 0510 becomes first AORN Chapter official Sponsor of the Nurses Float
• California Nursing Students Association becomes a Patron of the Nurses Float
• CCI: Competency & Credentialing Institute Becomes a Sponsor
• Nurses Float covered in an article at Nursezone.com
• " Roses for Nurses" published in the November 3, 2008 issue of NurseWeek tells their readers about the Nurses Float.  Read the article.
• Holland Hospital in Michigan becomes sponsor of Nurses Float
• 3rd Row Designs sponsors Nurses Float
• Monica Weisbrich & Associates sponsors Nurses Float
• Elder Support Services sponsors Nurses Float
• Pat Spongberg sponsors Nurses Float
• OR Manager Becomes 1st Patron
• Alpha Consulting Become 1st Sponsor
• Sally attends Operating Room Nursing Council of California meeting. View photos in our Gallery.
• Sally attends California Student Nurses Convention. View photos in our Gallery.
• F4TF Goes to D.C.for Managing Today's O.R. Suite. View photos in our Gallery.