LUCAS COUNTY, Ohio — Two floral shops - Beautiful Blooms by Jen in Sylvania and In Bloom Flowers & Gifts in Maumee - are partnering to deliver flowers to teachers at Sylvania and Maumee schools.
And for just $10, you can donate a bouquet.
"They've just faced a lot of challenges, as we all have," explained Kendra Bills, the owner of In Bloom Flowers & Gifts. "But in particular, just educating our kids. So, we were just like, 'Yeah, let's do teachers.'"
A total of 900 educators will receive a bouquet between the two school systems: 350 employees within Maumee City Schools and 550 at Sylvania Schools.
So far, about 100 of those bouquets have been paid for by the community.
And even though they have a long way to go, the feedback from customers is what keeps the floral shops going.
"Everybody's been really nice and really thankful. Really just loving the idea," said Beautiful Blooms by Jen floral designer Amanda Rosencrantz.
Bills is hoping to put smiles on faces.
"Response has been tremendous, but we just need to keep the momentum going and keep spreading that love," she said.
Dani Fuller isn't directly connected to these schools, but that didn't stop her from placing an order. She said she has several teacher friends and knows that a small gesture like this will brighten their entire day.
"Sometimes we're really frustrated and frustrated with the situation we're dealing with," she explained. "Then you get a flower and all of a sudden, it all comes back to 'Why am I doing what I do and why do I love what I do?'"
Making sure that all of the educators in the area receive the flowers and bouquets from the community hasn't been an easy task.
"So back in the fall, we were notified to pre-order all of our vases because they were having the shortage with the shipments," Rosencrantz said.
Instead of vases, the florists will be hand-wrapping the bouquets to ensure it gets delivered.
The Sylvania Education Association said even though it won't come as a surprise to the teachers the day they receive the flowers, they're appreciative the community is thinking of them.
If you want to help, call or stop by one of the participating florists. The shops will be taking orders until Jan. 28 and the flowers will be delivered the first week of February.