Many springtime events have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and local plant-selling fundraisers are no exception.
However, Growing Smiles Fundraising has launched a new initiative to not only make sure your spring planting needs are (safely) met, but to make sure community groups aren’t losing out on any much-needed donations.
Typically, local groups buy plants - like flowers, annuals, herbs and veggies - from Growing Smiles at wholesale costs and go on to sell them to friends or family for a profit. According to Growing Smiles, the revenue collected from the plant sales usually helps fund school groups, playgrounds, sports trips, grad ceremonies, dance tuitions, specialized surgeries and more.
While these fundraisers are usually organized by the groups themselves, closures and event cancellations associated with COVID-19 has meant many of those groups' plans for plant sales have had to be cancelled, too. So, with a greenhouse full of flowers and communities full of eager gardeners looking to buy them, Growing Smiles decided to organize their own series of “pop-up plant sale” community fundraisers.
“You can purchase a gift for someone you know that is feeling lonely or send some succulents to a long-term care facility that is no longer allowing visitors - we could all use a little support right now. And the kids could have fun with this too,” said Jessica Girard, Growing Smiles’ fundraising lead, in a release. “Learning how plants grow and caring for them are great at-home activities – nothing is better than seeing a smiling kid eat a strawberry that they grew!”
Ten per cent of proceeds from each sale will help fund groups within each respective community - for example, food banks - while a range of physical distancing measures will be implemented to help customers feel safe while collecting their purchases. Customers can also choose which organization they’d like their purchase to benefit.
To that end, customers will have to pre-purchase their plants online with a credit card, before heading out to a central, outdoor location during an allotted time slot to pick up their plants.
Customers must place their orders by:
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Vancouver – May 9 (pick-up date May 18)
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Surrey – May 12 (pick-up date May 20)
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Langley – May 14 (pick-up date May 22)
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Abbotsford – May 15 (pick-up date May 23)
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Chilliwack – May 8 (pick-up date May 16)
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Victoria – May 6 (pick-up date May 14)
For more information or to place an order, visit Growing Smiles Fundraising’s website.
