During the last week of May and all through June, we have made it our mission to Amplify Melanated Voices throughout our social media platforms. In what has been a wake-up call for a lot of the nation’s white population, we recognize that we have overlooked the challenges and struggles of the Black community. Furthermore, we have ignored and often marginalized the Black members of our industry. When we made our Grown to Last promise to not only help farm workers but also the local community, we knew that our first step was to partner with organizations that were helping underserved populations. We are proud of our efforts throughout the last two years but our work is far from over—we’re just getting started.
While we looked for ways to donate, learn and get involved with the Black community, we came across Sukii and her Miami-based floral business Say Sukii Flowers. Sukii is an outspoken, ambitious and driven young Black woman. She started her career in the floral department at Whole Foods about 10 years ago. She had some minor background in flowers growing up (her mom used to help their local florist friend with holiday orders) but this is where she learned everything from floral design, care and handling, pricing and buying from wholesalers and distributors. After several years, she decided it was time to start her floral design business. Her designs are beautiful, fresh, sustainable and unique. Not only is Sukii an amazing floral designer but she is also an active member of her community, an artist and a philanthropist.
One of her newest projects, The Flower Children was started for children to engage with one another, learn creative skills such as pottery, painting, floral arranging and simultaneously teach them mindfulness and self-healing practices. Sukii agrees that flowers have the power to convey emotions and transform lives. She sees her Flower Children as a representation of all the love, work and dedication that it takes for individual flowers to bloom.
“‘Flower Children’ are the seeds we take pride in exposing to all the necessary elements needed for them to bloom to their full potential. They are rooted in values of love, mindfulness, creative freedom, and the endless possibilities for growth.”
Due to the pandemic, Sukii quickly had to shift her original plan of weekly playdates to the virtual realm. She now organizes boxes with all the materials needed for each month and ships them to the participating children. Who knows when they’ll be able to play together in person again but in the meantime, Sukii is making sure these kids continue to have this safe space, even if it is virtual.
We are excited to announce our partnership with Sukii and the Flower Children! Our hope is to help Sukii continue to expand this project and support her mission of “providing fun and enriching safe spaces for these future leaders of our communities.” By creating these spaces that will help build their confidence and self-expression, we are “empowering to be the best versions of themselves.”
For the month of July, we will be donating a portion of our rose sales to The Flower Children to sponsor children and also help with supplies, vendors and shipping costs. Furthermore, we will be volunteering our time to help organize these playdates. If you or anyone you know is interested in donating to this amazing cause you can learn more here. You can also message us at marketing@54.160.50.207. As members of our community and industry, it is our duty to use our privilege to help others and to create a better world for future generations to come!
You can follow Sukii’s flower journey on Instagram here and The Flower Children here!