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Why Plant it Forward?
Why Plant it Forward?
| Why Plant It Forward? |
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By: Getty Stewart Lately, I’ve been getting a few raised eyebrows and surprised looks as I tell people about IBEX’s latest initiative – Plant It Forward. They’re fascinated as I explain it involves making and planting 1,000 recycled flowers in an effort to raise $30,000 for Habitat for Humanity. Their first words are often “That’s really nice, but you’re a payroll company, why would you do all of that?” We do it because it feels good to do something for our community. A community in which we not only do business, but in which we live, play, volunteer and raise our families. Our community is important to us and we believe we have a responsibility to take care of it. So, in addition to providing great payroll and employee time management solutions, we also enjoy providing community service. And, this year, our community service has taken the shape of Plant It Forward. Plant it Forward is about bringing the community together to plant a field of flowers in Winnipeg on the first day of spring, creating a positive national headline about Winnipeg and helping Habitat for Humanity provide safe, decent affordable housing for everyone. We’re relying on all of Winnipeg to help us achieve our goal of 1000 flowers and $30,000 for Habitat. We’re asking community groups to make 1,000 flowers out of unwanted, reclaimed materials and we’re asking businesses to support their efforts by making a pledge to Habitat for each flower made. That’s Plant It Forward and here are all the reasons why we chose to do what we’re doing. Why Winnipeg? We love Winnipeg. We love the people, their sense of community, their spirit, their tenacity and their down to earth nature. Plant It Forward is a celebration of Winnipeg, our home town, and we deserve a positive, national headline. Why Get So Many Others Involved? There’s no way we could accomplish our goal alone, and that’s the point. Keeping our community strong and vibrant, helping to solve our housing and poverty issues can’t be done by any one organization, it takes all of us. We hope Plant It Forward will be a great example of what we can accomplish when we all work together. That’s why we’re asking everyone to participate, whether it’s making flowers or making a donation, there’s something each of us can do. Why Habitat for Humanity Winnipeg? As much as we love Winnipeg, we know we have some challenges to overcome – our poverty and housing situation needs help. We’re fortunate to have a lot of great organizations working to address these challenges; we wish we could support them all. We chose Habitat because we really like their model. They provide a hand-up to hard working families who have to pay for their houses and put in 500 hours of sweat equity. The money we give to Habitat today will keep building houses in perpetuity – every time families make their mortgage payments that money becomes available for yet another house. Why A Pledge for Each Flower? We’ve been talking to Winnipeg business people about what we’re doing and asking them to pledge $30 for each flower our volunteers produce in return for being recognized as part of this effort. A pledge for each flower spurs on our volunteers and will ensure we have an amazing display on March 20th. So far, the average business is contributing $210 to sponsor a bouquet of 7 flowers. Why March? March is a tough month for us Prairie folk. While other parts of Canada are celebrating first blossoms, we’re often battling blizzards and the final blows of winter. Not this year. This year, we’ll celebrate our own field of flowers on March 20 - the first day of spring. Why Recycled Flowers? We chose flowers as a symbol of renewal, hope, beauty, life and humanity. Of course, real flowers wouldn’t work, so we decided to make them. And, it just made sense to use reclaimed materials destined for the garbage or recycling bin rather than to use raw materials. Why the Forks? The Forks is Winnipeg’s meeting place – the perfect location. And, one final reason – team spirit. We’ve found that whenever we do something together for the benefit of others there is a renewed sense of energy and excitement in our office. That feeling lasts for a while and spills over into the work that we do for our clients. In summary, Plant It Forward is a fun activity that brings us together, has positive community impact and promotes a team spirit long after the event is over. Instead of asking why we do it, I think the question really should be – why wouldn’t we do it! If Plant It Forward sounds like something you or your organization would like to be a part of check out www.PlantItForward.ca or contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Mary Sohn at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more details. |
Flowers Made
1,025
Goal: 1,000
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