Today is the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. As I’m not a huge winter sports fan, I am not a die hard watcher of the Olympic Games, yet I am completely spellbound by the opening ceremony. I actually got teary eyed when Steve Nash, Wayne Gretzky, Rick Hansen, Nancy Greene and Catriona Le May Doan lit the larger Olympic torch. As Vancouver 2010 dominated conversations today, someone told me that the bouquets that are given to medal winners are very special; however they could not articulate more than that. Today’s question is: what flowers make up the Olympic bouquets? (And what makes them so darn special?!)
A: The Olympic bouquets are made of flowers and greenery that are grown in Canada. The victory bouquets contain:
Hypericum berries
Green spider mums
Leatherleaf fern
Monkey grass
Aspidistra leaves
The greenery is bound together by a royal blue ribbon and the handles are made of recycled paper. All packaging and wrapping are sourced according to sustainability principles and delivery is governed by a carbon management program.
Now, what makes these bouquets so special has nothing to do with what is in them or how they are transported; it is in who is making them. The flowers are selected and the bouquets are handmade by marginalized women, recovering from addiction, leaving the sex trade or released from prison. The bouquets are produced by a small business and social enterprising partnership between florist Margitta Schulz and a social service organization called Just Beginnings Non-Profit Society. Just Beginnings is a flower shop and floral training facility for women with barriers to employment. The women are provided with an experience that connects them with top athletes as well as employability skills for future opportunities.
Now, what makes these bouquets so special has nothing to do with what is in them or how they are transported; it is in who is making them. The flowers are selected and the bouquets are handmade by marginalized women, recovering from addiction, leaving the sex trade or released from prison. The bouquets are produced by a small business and social enterprising partnership between florist Margitta Schulz and a social service organization called Just Beginnings Non-Profit Society. Just Beginnings is a flower shop and floral training facility for women with barriers to employment. The women are provided with an experience that connects them with top athletes as well as employability skills for future opportunities.
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