A successful fundraising flower sale has helped to brighten up the Ann Davis Transition House.
The non-profit organization announced earlier this year that they needed to replace the house's fencing. A full fence, providing a safe place for children and their mothers to play and relax, would cost more than $12,000. They appealed to the public, and that appeal was published in The Progress.
At about the same time, Megan Praat and Kayln Head were looking for a project to celebrate International Women's Day, held annually on March 8.
"It seems like International Women's Day in other countries is a huge thing, and here it seems that it's not celebrated as much," Praat said. They wanted to change that.
The girls spoke to one of their teachers at Chilliwack secondary school, Connie Williams. Later that week, Williams happened to be chatting with her friend, Lucyanne Carruthers, over a cup of coffee. She mentioned the girls, and their mission to help women. Carruthers had noticed the story about Ann Davis and their needed fence.
It was the perfect charitable gift.
"We really wanted to do something to make a difference, and we found that Ann Davis does that in significant way and we really wanted to be a part of it," Pratt said.
Praat's family runs a tulip farm in Rosedale, Premium Blooms, while Carruthers is the owner of Panago in Promontory. They came up with a partnership, and an idea blossomed.
They would offer a bouquet of tulips for $5 donations, and tucked in those bouquets would be $5 coupons for the Promontory Panago store.
And then they hit the sales circuit. The girls secured a table at the Fraser Valley Women's Expo, and gathered up help from their friends Bettina Rillera and Emily Murray. As they sold off the bouquets, they gained an even deeper appreciation for Ann Davis and their positive effects in the community.
"Some people just walked past us but of those we did catch, most of them really wanted to give," she said. "Or, they had really good stories that hit close to home, about how Ann Davis has helped them in their lives … learning about all that they do and how they've helped people in the community, it's phenomenal."
The girls also spent time selling the bouquets right at Panago, on International Women's Day, and visited the Mt. Cheam Rotary Club's morning meeting a few times to sell flowers to members there.
In all, they managed to raise $3,000 for Ann Davis, putting them closer to finishing the fence.
While they got the project in motion with the help of Williams, and the teacher volunteered alongside the group at many of the functions, Praat noted that it wasn't a school project. Rather, it was just something they wanted to do.
It's not the first fundraiser Praat and the others have been involved in, and likely not the last.
"I know I want to keep on helping people, no matter what," Praat said.
The group is delivering their donations to Ann Davis this week.
To donate to the fence project at Ann Davis, visit: http://fundrazr.com/campaigns/7uDDe