Arc of Katy flower sale raises thousands

By R. Hans Miller | Times Senior Reporter
Posted 5/4/20

The Arc of Katy held a flower sale April 30 and May 1 to raise funds for the nonprofit, Arc of Katy Board Member Amy Campbell said. The local nonprofit, which offers social activities for adults with …

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Arc of Katy flower sale raises thousands

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The Arc of Katy held a flower sale April 30 and May 1 to raise funds for the nonprofit, Arc of Katy Board Member Amy Campbell said. The local nonprofit, which offers social activities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, raised $3,000 through sales and another $800 through financial donations at the event.

“We ordered 1,000 Geraniums with the hopes that we could really put it out there and sell them,” Campbell said. “We sold 930 of them the first day. The next day we had 70 left and we sold those in 18 minutes.”

The community came together to help the Arc of Katy in multiple ways, Campbell said. First, there were the community members that bought the flowers and the volunteers for The Arc that ran the flower sale. Second, the Katy Elks Lodge #2628 provided another volunteer, chairs and tents to facilitate the event.

The Arc of Katy’s clients did not participate because of health concerns, Campbell said.

“We didn’t ask them to participate only because of the social distancing and sometimes they’re in the compromised group of people,” Campbell said.

The idea for the event came after Campbell spoke with her sister, Randye McAnally, who runs Fredericksburg Farms with her husband Steve McAnally. The nursery usually sells Geraniums for school fundraisers. Most of the fundraisers the thousands of plants raised at the nursery were going to go unused, so Campbell worked out a deal with her sister to raise funds for The Arc of Katy instead.

The 1,000 Geraniums were sold for $8 a piece with $5 going toward the grower’s business to keep it going and $3 going to the nonprofit, Campbell said. Between the profit from the flowers and about $800 received in financial donations, the total proceeds for last week’s event was $3,800, Campbell said.

Campbell said that, while the nonprofit is not currently hosting in-person events for its program participants, it is partnering with area organizations to provide activities for participants. The Harris County staff at Mary Jo Peckham Park have even created exercise videos for The Arc of Katy clients to enjoy with their families, Campbell said.

Campbell and John Curry of Curry & Co. Consulting helps The Arc of Katy with its public relations said the organization still needs the community’s support, even though in-person activities are not ongoing right now. The nonprofit’s annual fundraising gala is still scheduled for Aug. 28, they said.

“If (supporters) have any educational or interesting things, they do they could offer those to The Arc of Katy,” Campbell said.

If you missed the sale and would like to purchase geraniums, the Katy Elks Lodge will be hosting its own geranium sale Thursday and Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. or when flowers are sold out, whichever is sooner, Campbell said. The sale will be held at the lodge at  Katy Fort Bend Road in Katy. 

Note: This story has been updated with the details for the upcoming Katy Elks Lodge flower sale.

The Arc of Katy, Amy Campbell, John Curry, Randye McAnally, Fredericksburg Farms, Steve McAnally