Time to bloom: Volunteers help with BBBS Plant Sale

Kylie Wise pointed out some of the volunteers unloading and sorting plants Tuesday morning, May 7, in Davenport, doing their part for the 35th annual Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley plant sale.  “They know this process. They’re pros. They’ll be done with all this in about an hour,” said Ms. Wise, the […]

Kylie Wise pointed out some of the volunteers unloading and sorting plants Tuesday morning, May 7, in Davenport, doing their part for the 35th annual Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley plant sale.  “They know this process. They’re pros. They’ll be done with all this in about an hour,” said Ms. Wise, the events and marketing coordinator for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley. She was right. In about an hour, thousands of plants – most of them flowers –  were unloaded  from containers; placed in a grassy area near a parking lot by the Northwest Bank Tower at 100 E. Kimberly Road; and sorted by plant types next to a series of corresponding signs.  The organization will have over 3,500 flats of annuals and 3,000 hanging baskets available for purchase this year.  Funds raised support the organizations one to one mentoring programs provided to youth and families in eastern Iowa and western Illinois.   Pick-up and delivery of the pre-ordered plants will be Wednesday and Thursday, May 8-9. Retail sale of the plants will be Friday through Sunday, May 10-13, in Davenport, next to the Northwest Bank Tower. (That retail area will be open to plant shoppers 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. For more information on the plant sale, go here.)

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All proceeds from the event support Big Brothers Big Sisters one-to-one youth mentoring programs that serve 12 counties in eastern Iowa and western Illinois.  But before the plants can be sold, there is a lot of work that needs to be done first. Much of that work happened Tuesday with around 70 volunteers unloading and sorting the plants in the morning from three semi trucks. Another army of volunteers were scheduled to sort and deliver ordered plants in the afternoon. There will be more than 200 volunteers helping with that work throughout the day, said Jay Justin, president and CEO of  Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley, “There’s going to be a lot of hands helping us today,” he added. One of those volunteers helping with the Tuesday morning pant work was David Loos, an engineer with MidAmerican Energy Company. “It’s important to help out in the community. … My cousin ran (the BBBS) in Muscatine, so I know how important this organization is,” Mr. Loos said just before he began a busy hour or so of sorting plants on a cool, cloudy morning just after rainstorms hit the region. Ms. Loos and many other volunteers were kept busy moving flowers and baskets from containers. Some of those plants included snapdragons, asters, marigolds, petunias, moss roses and many other varieties. Organizations providing volunteers for the event include John Deere, Mel Fosters, Solutions Management Group, Iowa American Water, Target, US Bank, Ruhl & Ruhl, WHBF, Townsquare Media, Two Men and a Truck, Enterprise, MidAmerican Energy, IHMVCU, Davenport West football and basketball teams, LULAC, UAW Local 281, Trane, American Bank and many others. Presenting sponsors include Mel Foster Company, SMG, and Iowa American Water. C&W Trucking in Bettendorf donated its delivery services with its semis. “We really appreciate them. … These volunteers are going to be doing some really big work today,” said Ms. Wise.