In the pink

Dale Deppe, owner of Spring Meadow Nursery, announced during Cultivate’18 that the Invincibelle Spirit Campaign for a Cure has surpassed the company’s million-dollar fundraising goal for breast cancer research.

Spring Meadow, which introduced the Proven Winners ColorChoice Invincibelle Spirit hydrangea, started the fund to support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), www.bcrf.org. Since 2009, the Invincibelle Spirit Campaign has supported BCRF by donating $1 for every Invincibelle Spirit and Invincibelle Spirit II hydrangea sold, as well as through Pink Day cause marketing events, which are hosted by independent garden centers across North America.

The program began with Invicibelle Spirit, but the Invincibelle Spirit II hydrangea was also chosen “to exemplify the campaign because of its beautiful pink color and ability to thrive.”

Dale says BCRF was chosen because it is the highest rated breast cancer organization in the U.S. with an A+ rating from Charity Watch and 4 out of 4 stars from Charity Navigator. Allocating .91 of every $1.00 raised to research and awareness, BCRF provides critical funding that fuels advances in tumor biology, genetics, prevention, treatment, metastasis and survivorship.

Congratulations to Dale and his entire team, as well as the IGCs who host Pink Day.

I hope we can all take a lesson from Spring Meadow and find a way to give back. Strategize with your employees and see if there’s an organization or a cause they’d like to support. It certainly doesn’t have to be on the grand, million-dollar scale. Think locally and find a way to get involved somewhere. As my grandmother used to say, “You’ll be a blessing and you’ll get a blessing.”

And if you’re trying to recruit the next generation, companies that are charitable are appealing to millennials. (Heck, us gen-xers love that, too.)

If you’re supporting a cause like cancer or other illnesses, that opens up an opportunity to talk about the healthful and healing aspects of plants. Revisit our May issue on pages 34-35 to see the #PlantsDoThat infographic (or here www.nurserymag.com/article/plantsdothat-may-2018/) or go to consumerhort.org where the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture explains the powerful benefits of plants.