Northwestern College Teams Up With Flowers For Dreams at Graduation to Donate School Supplies to Students in Need

CHICAGO, IL – A time-tested staple at college graduations across the country - congratulatory flowers and roses - have long accompanied caps, gowns, and diplomas at commencement day festivities. This year at Northwestern College in Illinois it was decided to put them to use in a different way. They invited innovative floral service Flowers for Dreams to stage flowers and sell floral bouquets at their 2013 Commencement ceremony – for a unique and worthwhile cause. For every bouquet or arrangement sold over $27, Flowers for Dreams donated a backpack – complete with a year’s worth of school supplies – to a Chicago Public School (CPS) student in need.
Following the June 28 ceremony, total sales enabled the Flowers for Dreams team to donate 72 backpacks to 72 CPS students living at or below poverty. In addition, 10% of the flower sales were donated to a charity of choice, with Northwestern College selecting its own Student Assistance Fund. With the sales generated, a $223 donation was made to the College’s Student Assistance Fund to assist its own students in need.
Steven Dyme, the Founder of Flowers for Dreams, applauded Northwestern College’s commitment to service and the success of the project. “The entire Northwestern College community took a chance on something new and unique and over 70 backpacks and nearly 1,000 critical school supplies later, they will have helped three classrooms of local students get the resources they need to compete and achieve.” Dyme noted that other Chicago area educational institutions from Loyola to DePaul, Robert Morris to North Central, have invited Flowers for Dreams to offer the same floral program at their commencements. “It is a positive thing that all these respected institutions of higher learning are positing conscious efforts to give back.”
For now, Flowers for Dreams and Northwestern College plan to send out an all-campus invitation to celebrate this accomplishment at the 2nd annual Build-A-Backpack Day on August 17th. Hosted by Flowers for Dreams and their nonprofit partner Supplies for Dreams, on the Evanston campus of Northwestern University, all supporters are encouraged to come package the backpack(s) which they were able to donate. People from all throughout Chicagoland will join to participate in the donation of over 4,000 critically stocked backpacks to 4,000 low-income students in need. A record-shattering figure compared to years past.
You can find out more about the Flowers for Dreams initiative and how to join in on the celebration for education by visiting their website: www.flowersfordreams.com. There you can register your own events, sign up all sorts of fundraisers, and order meaningful, affordable, fresh arrangements of every variety for delivery in Chicago— starting from just $27.