Socially Conscious Flowers - Helping Others

Talk about a win-win situation! Buy your sweety some Valentine's Day flowers and help displaced Colombian families through the school of floriculture.

Here's the story. Colombia supplies hundreds of millions of dollars of flowers to the U.S. every year. Now, 70% of the growers have banded together to form a group called Asocolflores to help people displaced by the crushing violence in Colombia.

"As an industry, we are committed to any programs that will help to support the people of our country," said Augusto Solano, President of Asocolflores. "The School of Floriculture gives Colombian families the unique opportunity to earn back their independence and dignity. And flower purchasers help to support this initiative by simply buying and enjoying beautiful flowers."

The School of Floriculture promotes the creation of jobs and allows participants to earn an income and start a new life. Beneficiaries begin the training process and join Asocolflores member companies as apprentices receiving a salary while they train in flower production techniques. After one year, apprentices may choose to accept a permanent job in the company.

With an investment of US $1.8 million, the School of Floriculture has benefited more than 1,631 families to date. In addition to funding and assistance from Asocolflores and member farms, the program counts on financial and technical support from the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) and financial resources from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Your flower purchases this Valentine's Day will help support this cause. Not only will your sweety be happy but you can do something good for the world.