Press coverage September 2008

Good morning my fellow WCR members and readers! I wanted to share with you an article on this project we have been working on all year!

We are celebrating our first years success on September 27th! It has been a very busy this year getting this project up and running..........but we did it and we are proud!

Our local Chapter made the on line news paper, and we have claims from other media that they will cover as well...............so I share with you the 1st of many (I hope)!

http://www.rapidgrowthmedia.com/developmentnews/flow0918.aspx

There is a post of mine currently featured on active rain that refers to the Habitat home that our local chapter participated in............. this was funded through this foundation and labor came from WCR members.

Our local chapter is making a difference in our committy..................I am very proud to be be a member of WCR and connected with such wonderful woman!

Who our landscapers are for 2008

Our Landscapers:

Signature Outdoor Concepts - Jason Haywood http://www.signatureoutdoorconcepts.com/

Wabeke Lawn Service and Snowplowing, Inc. - Mike Wabeke
http://www.wabekelawn.com/

River's Edge Property Management - Lynn Beukema
Riversedge5558@sbcglobal.net

D.J.'s Lawn Service, Inc. - D.J. Vander Slik Jr.
http://www.djslawnservice.com/

Wildwood, Inc. - Justin Heyboer
http://www.wildwoodlandscape.com/

Harder and Warner Nursery - Erma Warner - http://www.harderandwarner.com/

Fix My Yard - Steve Sanders - (no website) (616) 299-7014

Kloosterman Landscaping, Inc. - Bob Kloosterman
http://www.kloostermanlandscaping.com/

JLH Landscaping - Justin Hickman
http://www.jlhlandscapers.com/

A BIG thank you to my senior volunteers!

Collating and book making was the plan for the day yesterday. ICCF who has partnered with us for the F.L.O.W. foundation, called in their senior volunteers. We had fun and they worked hard to get it all done. I got to learn how to use a binding machine! The books look great.........Mary Mishler made the lay out and Brendan O'Driscoll printed the pages for us. Which has been wonderful, as everything needed to get this foundation up and running has been donated! So thus far............every penny donated has been used for the foundation. Not ONE admin cost as of yet!
This foundation was meant to be a community project and it really has turned out that way. People from all over have pitched in to help!
I so enjoy all the new people I get to meet. Here is a pic of my senior volunteers hard at work:

Art work to be auctioned off at F.L.O.W. Garden Party

F.L.O.W. Garden Party and Garden Tickets - Ready for your order!

We are excited! September 27, 2008 will be the Garden Tour and Garden Party to celebrate F.L.O.W.'s first years success!

Yes, we have a commitment for 10 yards to be transformed..........and a great party planned! For those of you that have been to a WCR party, you know we can throw a great party!

Here are the details:
Garden Tour Saturday September 27th, 10am till 4pm
Garden Tour books with maps of the homes cost $10.00

Garden Party - Saturday 27th 5pm - 8pm Tickets Cost 20.00 Ticket price includes:
Entrance to Garden Party at Republic on South Division

(Rockwell's and Republic NEW Restaurant)
Vallet Parking
Appetizers
Door Prizes
Auction Art (book mark this blog, as will be adding pics of the art to be auctioned) All local artist!
Meet our Sponsors and Landscapers
A fun time had by all!

Buy both - Garden Tour Book and a Garden Party ticket at a reduced price of $25.00

To order your tickets please e-mail Dannielle Rowland - Danielle.Rowland@flagstar.com
www.flowgr.com

F.L.O.W. Update - Landscaping the Habitat Home “Woman Built”

Well, the landscaping of the Woman Built Habitat Home was great fun! We got VERY dirty, and I probably have never worked this hard ever in my life! I was sore from head to toe and perspired in places that I had no idea there were sweat glands! It was the hottest day of the year so far! However we worked hard and got it all done. What a great sense of accomplishment it was!

WCR members, Mary Mishler (WCR President), Shelly Abbott, Michelle Gordon, and Kathy Thayer were there, along with friends and family members.

September is just around the corner, and will be here before we know it. The members of the F.L.O.W. committee have been working hard to get as much money raised as we can and have done a fantastic job bringing this whole project together. There was much to work to out…..details, details and more details! Might I say next year will be much easier as the play book has now been written!

We currently have 10 Landscapers on board with the project who are going to volunteer their time and plants.

Romance Gardens has already committed to donating some plants for the project. (Susan Pastoor (Metropolitan Title) is working on all the other retail nurseries in the area)

We just got a donation of $500.00 from Huntington Bank to the project. Which now covers the rest of the cost of the Woman built – Habitat Home. So as I wipe the sweat off my brow, we have raised enough money to support this wonderful project. A JOB WELL DONE!

Have you considered donating to F.L.O.W?

If you have been meaning to donate and just have not done it yet, or if you were waiting to see if we could really get this project up and running. Wait no longer………..
This project is really going to happen, we are up and running, we are going to landscape 10 homes this fall! More if possible, we will not stop till we have to!

You can very easily donate by using pay pal on our blog site……..look tothe right, there is the PayPal button, go a head use it, I dare you!

If every realtor/lender in Kent County gave $10.00, we would have enough money for 3 or 4 homes! How wonderful it would be if I could advertise how all the Kent County Realtors and Lenders supported the movement of F.L.O.W. and how WE as a group of Realtors and Lenders were able to fund 3 or 4 of the homes!

$10.00 = 3 grande Star Bucks coffee, 2 cocktails at the bar, 1 lunch out with friends, maybe ¼ tank of gas, money wasted on lotto tickets, school lunch for a week (the kids are out now), found change in the bottom of purse and/or floor board of our cars. However this $10.00 for F.L.O.W. will be a tax deductible donation, none of the others listed are!

A reminder to save the date:

September 27th is the Garden Tour and Garden Party. Some details are on the website now and will be updated as we get more activities finalized, but I am guessing you will not want to miss the party of the summer! So block out that date on your calendar NOW!

F.L.O.W. is on the MOVE

We had a wonderful time at the “Making Thyme Kitchen” on Tues May 6th. We tasted some awesome foods served up by our gracious host’s Karen and Ken the owners. While the tasting event is over, they’re still offering through end of May to give 20% back to FLOW!!!

Words from Mary Kent our Sponsor co-chair:

We sampled the Jamaican Chicken Burgers with Mango Sauce YUMEEE!!! The Sweet Potato and Black Bean Cakes and my personal favorite, Baked Macaroni and Cheese. My usually picky 8 year son loved it too!!

Please help support FLOW and forget about COOKING!!! To order Just call 616.406.8511, fax. 616.241.2084, email, info@makingthymekitchen.com or stop by 962 Cherry St SE ½ block west of Diamond.

View the May Menu and MAKE SURE TO SAY YOUR ORDERING TO SUPPORT FLOW!!!