A Texas wholesaler and a retail florist joined forces to put a new spin on an educational program designed to get kids interested in flowers.

Greenleaf Wholesale Florist in Austin, Texas, partnered with local retailer Phil Enderle of Marvel's Flower World, Inc., in Kileen, Texas, to present a Flowers for Kids program in late-April — but rather than limiting attendees to the 235 third through sixth graders at the school, they invited soldiers from the local Ft. Hood military base to participate. Fourteen local soldiers participated, handing flowers to the children as they made their bouquets, and, according to Ray Liehr, manager, they enjoyed the program as much as the kids.

"In one way, it was an opportunity for them to get off the base, away from their regular duties," Liehr explains. "Some of the soldiers were getting ready to be deployed and won't be able to see American children and a family-type setting, or be with their own kids at school." Liehr says the soldiers showed a lot of interest in learning about the different flowers.

"You could hear them saying the different names to each other as they were helping to hand out flowers to the kids for their bouquets," Liehr says. Each soldier also received a bouquet to take home for a loved one.

The nonprofit Flowers For Kids, which was started in early 2006, is designed to increase demand for cut flowers by teaching kids how to care for, appreciate and make their own bouquets, so they encourage their parents to buy flowers.
 
Liehr calls the program "the single most effective marketing tool" that directly benefits the retail florist and wholesaler. "We can only assume that more people buying flowers from shops that are exposed to and offer Flowers for Kids classes will result in more business for the retailer, wholesaler and their suppliers," he says.

For more information about becoming a certified Flowers For Kids instructor, you can visit the program's Web site.

--Kori Kamradt
kkamradt@safnow.org

 

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