Metrolina Greenhouses and CK Greenhouses among those who played a huge role in making the special project happen
For the folks over at Metrolina Greenhouses in Charlotte, North Carolina, Mother’s Day is their Super Bowl.
“It’s our busiest week of the year,” said co-CEO Abe VanWingerden.
So when Lowe’s approached with an idea for a massive Mother’s Day donation project, it was a lot to take in at first.
“Whenever someone brings us a new project for Mother’s Day there is always a moment of pause, but this one just sounded so cool and so right,” VanWingerden said. “I just think Lowe’s doing this is wonderful. We had no issue stepping up and moving production around to make this happen. It’s the right thing to do at the right time.”
Lowe’s set out to donate $1 million worth of flower baskets to women in senior housing facilities nationwide. Metrolina Greenhouses was happy to provide nearly 25,000 baskets for the Charlotte area.
“To see that many flowers… each basket is about a foot and half and it is quite impactful to see all of them together,” said Mariah Holland, director of marketing at Metrolina. “Just to see the scope of it and then to have the personal connection of delivering the flowers and seeing the difference it can make, especially to those mothers who may not have access to their children – it is very heartwarming.”
The northeast has been hit particularly hard during this pandemic, which made Jason Bell, sales manager of CK Greenhouses in Connecticut, all the more interested in helping out when Lowe’s inquired.
“We’re really the hot spot up here,” Bell said. “We were excited to hear we could get down to Brooklyn and Long Island and be able to do this with Lowe’s and donate some flowers.”
CK Greenhouses provided over 30,000 baskets to the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
“We’ve had to hold people off from trying to deliver product,” Bell said. “Everybody wanted to be a part of it. Everybody here has been completely on board, from the very top to the drivers in the trucks.”
Flowers have long been connected to Mother’s Day celebrations, and all parties involved with this project were determined to make women living and working in senior facilities feel special – especially during a time like this.
“For our people to be a part of those deliveries means a lot to them. To see the looks on the faces – it is harder to see a smile through a mask, but we’re working through that. We’re going for lit up eyes,” VanWingerden said with a laugh.
“We rallied around this. We’re doing a good thing here in partnership with Lowe’s. It’s a great morale boost for our team. It feels good.”