Seed Your Future, SAF Unite to Promote Industry Jobs
Seed Your Future and the Society of American Florists have joined forces to promote increased awareness of horticulture and floriculture and inspire more people to pursue careers working with flowers and plants.
Citing their close mission alignment and shared desire to consolidate and prioritize resources to strengthen the industry and ensure a long-term pipeline of green-collar professionals, the leadership of both organizations enthusiastically approved the partnership.
“We started the Seed Your Future movement to address a critical issue across the breadth of the horticulture industry,” said Anna Ball, CEO and chairman of the board of Ball Horticultural Co. and co-chair of SYF. “There have never been so many career opportunities in horticulture, yet awareness of these opportunities was at an all-time low.”
“In 2019, we established career and workforce development as a top priority of our strategic plan,” said Chris Drummond, AAF, PFCI, president of SAF and owner of Penny’s by Plaza Flowers in Philadelphia. “We looked around to see what others were already doing in this area, and we were impressed by the momentum of Seed Your Future. Instead of creating a new initiative for SAF, the most impactful decision was to join forces and work together to build more interest in careers across horticulture and floriculture.”
Operational and governance transitions will occur throughout the year, with a goal of late 2021 for the finalization of the partnership.
For more information, visit SAF at safnow.org and Seed Your Future at www.seedyourfuture.org.
Home Depot, Meals on Wheels Team Up to Help Vets
Meals on Wheels America and the Home Depot Foundation recently completed home repairs for its 1,500th senior U.S military veteran through a joint initiative called the “Helping Homebound Heroes” program. As part of its ongoing commitment to improving the homes and lives of veterans and their families, the Home Depot Foundation has funded home repairs for 1,593 homebound veteran Meals on Wheels recipients across the country since 2015. Through this partnership, The Home Depot Foundation has contributed more than $11 million and countless volunteer hours from Team Depot to work alongside community-based Meals on Wheels programs on a wide range of home repair projects.
Walmart Simplifies Express Delivery Service
Walmart is making it easier for its customers to use its Express delivery service by removing the $35 minimum order requirement. Express delivery allows customers to order items from Walmart stores — with no markup on the items. Express delivery costs $10 on top of the existing delivery charge. Walmart+ members only pay the $10 Express fee. The retailer has a team of 170,000 trained personal shoppers who pick customers’ orders. Express delivery is currently offered in nearly 3,000 Walmart stores reaching nearly 70% of the U.S. population.
Meijer to Host Supplier Diversity Event
In May, Meijer will host its second supplier diversity event to give diverse-owned businesses nationwide the opportunity to showcase their offerings for interested Meijer merchants. “By continuing to recruit diverse vendors through these events, we are creating a pipeline of diverse partners that will better serve our customers and communities for years to come,” said Peter Whitsett, executive vice president of merchandising and marketing. Last November, Meijer held its first-ever Supplier Diversity Summit with nearly 250 suppliers. To learn more about the program, visit Meijer’s prospective vendor page.
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