WOW Flowers is a floral-focused organisation that creates beautiful flower arrangements and hosts flower-related events, all to raise funds for meaningful causes such as the Alzheimer’s Society.
It is the brainchild of Strategi Solutions duo Wendy Dean and Michaela Tabinor, and in this article we chat to Wendy and Michaela to hear more about the CSR initiative, why it was created, and how people can get involved to support its charity beneficiaries.
Michaela, what does WOW Flowers do?
We set up WOW Flowers as a CSR initiative aligned to Strategi Solutions. There are different elements to it, all aiming to achieve the main premise, which is to support charities whilst sharing our love for flowers. Wendy and I give our time for free, with customers only paying for the flowers, not the time it takes to make the arrangements. We also include a charity donation in the price quoted that goes straight to our chosen charity, that this year is the Alzheimer’s Society.
There are different things that we deliver…
Charity events – we supply table centres, thank you bouquets, raffle prizes etc.
Bouquets or floral arrangements – we supply any floral arrangement for birthdays, anniversaries and celebrations
Floral workshops – these can be an open event with mixed groups of people attending, or we can do in-house company team building events. Events can take place at our premises in Newcastle-under-lyme, or at your own business premises
Team building events – our floral workshops are a great way to promote team culture. Delegates get to learn about the preparation of flowers and aftercare, as well as learning new techniques for presenting flowers
Our workshops range from wreath making classes, creating table centres, seasonal floral displays, hand tied bouquets, or simply how to arrange flowers in a vase.
Michaela, why do you give up your time in this way?
I really enjoyed learning all the techniques involved in floristry during my college courses; I loved learning about the types of flowers and their meanings, and I wanted to share that knowledge.
Most people love to receive flowers, but traditional florists can be expensive, so we wanted to find a way that others can benefit from learning about flowers and their meanings, whilst at the same time ‘giving back’.
Michaela, do you host WOW events for organisations in North Staffordshire?
Yes, we deliver floral workshops of varying types. It could be a workshop to match the seasons, or it could be to match something to do with the organisation e.g. to match a specific colour scheme. We could also match the session to objectives, such as confidence building.
Wendy, why is important to you as a business owner to give back to your community?
‘Giving back’ is important in many ways. For me as a business owner, I see it as part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of my business. It shows my team that I care and when the giving back is relatable to the people who work for you it, I think it means that much more.
For me establishing WOW Flowers with Michaela, helps us to engage the community with our business and shows that we’re willing to share our success with those less fortunate.
It also grounds me as a person; it’s easy to feel important and forget about those less fortunate. Giving back gives opportunities to get a reality check. But most importantly, it feels fantastic to help others.
Wendy, what’s your best piece of advice for small business owners getting started with a CSR initiative?
My advice is simple – Don’t overthink it. Do something, no matter how small. And focus on how you can help in terms giving time as well as giving money, often that is most valuable.
Finally, and importantly, don’t pay lip service to CSR – if you aren’t sincere about it, it will show.
WOW Flowers has an upcoming floral arranging workshop on 16th May, and we have 2 free places to give away! Enter your details below, and we’ll be in touch if you are a lucky winner.
Find out more about WOW Flowers one their website here.
