We can’t believe it’s been a year since we started our partnership with La Casita Foundation. Time really does fly when you’re doing what you love. We realize that we’ve talked about La Casita Foundation here and there, but we’ve never really told the story about how this all came to be. So, here goes!
In late 2018, we realized that Grown to Last was more than just a rebrand—it was about what defined us as an entity.
What was at the core of Golden Flowers?
What made our business unique?
It was our meaningful relationships with the farms, our employees and our customers. These partnerships had been cultivated for years and were built on mutual trust and understanding—they were Grown to Last. Out of that evolution, came the desire and necessity to strengthen our presence within our local community. This where La Casita Foundation came in.
La Casita Foundation was founded in 2008 in Miami, FL. It’s run by women for women in need. Its purpose is to help women in vulnerable situations by offering weekly workshops, talks and food supplies. In 2016, they began their floral workshop and were paying for the flowers and supplies out of pocket.
We wanted to have a positive impact through our flowers so we were looking to partner with an organization that had something to do with the products we sell. We wanted to do more than just donate money or create fundraisers. As an organization we have always worked tremendously to support the farm employees, the majority who are women and some who are single mothers, and we wanted to do the same in Miami.
In January 2019, we officially launched our partnership with La Casita Foundation. We began this process by donating our flowers and volunteering every Thursday at their floral workshop. Throughout the months, we have gotten to know both the women that attend the workshops and the women who volunteer. We have gotten more involved in the planning of each lesson and have even learned some floral skills of our own. Since we began working with La Casita, the floral workshop has grown—they now offer it every Thursday and Saturday. The women learn care and handling tips for each flower, what to look for when buying product and how to create arrangements for special events and every day. Although they see us as the flower experts, we sometimes feel like the students as they share lessons and stories they’ve learned and experienced throughout their lives. To the women of La Casita Foundation: we are grateful for the opportunity to work with you.
Now that you know a little bit more about our partnership with La Casita Foundation, we encourage you to partner with organizations in your area that are looking for volunteers. We sometimes think that these organizations are only looking for donations but your time and floral knowledge can be as— if not more—valuable than money. March 8th is Women’s day, why not volunteer or partner with an organization that helps women?
At Golden Flowers, we will be honoring and celebrating the amazing and brave women that make the flower industry what it is during the month of March. Happy Women’s Day!