FAQ

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How do you get your flowers?
Wedding and event coordinators, florists, and venues contact us to schedule a pickup when they have an event with leftover flowers. Sometimes the donation has been arranged in advance with the client, and sometimes they call us to salvage floral arrangements that have simply been left behind at the end of an event.

What happens next?
Hope Blooms Anew picks up the flower arrangements either the night of the event or at another mutually agreed upon time with the florist or venue. Arrangements in disposable containers are transported as a unit, and we bring buckets to gather loose flowers that may be in rented vases. We never take rented decor, vases, or other apparatus offsite.
Small arrangements may be refreshed by the removal or replacement of flowers that show wear or damage, but are often used as-is. Very large arrangements are broken down, the flowers are reconditioned, and they are used to create new arrangements in a more office- and residence-friendly size. Over the next 1-2 days, volunteers retrieve the new arrangements and deliver them to our non-profit partners so they can be enjoyed anew!

Where are you located?
Hope Blooms Anew is run by volunteers from their own homes and business locations, most of which are within a few miles of downtown Milwaukee. We are currently only scheduling pickups in Milwaukee. If your event is outside of Milwaukee, but you are working with a Milwaukee-based florist who is willing to transport the flowers to our area, we’ll take them!

Is there a charge for the flowers?
There is no charge to either the donor nor the recipient of the flowers, as Hope Blooms Anew is 100% volunteer based. There are some expenses, however, such as the occasional purchase of basic floral supplies like foam, tape, shears, and small vases, equipment for transporting arrangements, and basic marketing costs. We are not taking monetary donations at this time. If you would like to send us a gift, you can see our Amazon Wish List here: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/QLLHWKQVXNB7?ref_=wl_share

I love this idea! Can you pick up the flowers from my wedding?
Hope Blooms Anew is a vendor-led program to reduce waste and share with our community. Because of the logistical details of storage and pickup, we do not take requests directly from clients. If you would like to donate your flowers, that’s great, and we really appreciate it! Please share our information with your florist, wedding coordinator, or venue and have them contact us to work out the details.

How can I get involved?
There are 3 steps in the process: pick up (usually late nights on Saturdays but occasionally Sunday or Monday during the day), creation of arrangements (usually Sunday during the day or Monday evening), and delivery to our community partners. Please email hopebloomsanewmke@gmail.com if you would like to register as a volunteer!

What organizations do you serve?
In addition to recycling floral materials, our goal is to assist in creating a comforting, homey atmosphere for people who are recovering from trauma or may be going through a difficult life transition. Our current focus is on Milwaukee area nonprofits that have a residential component. Our community partners include Sojourner Family Peace Center, Ronald McDonald House, Pathfinders and Meta House. If you would like to make us aware of another nonprofit that might be a good fit for our mission, please email hopebloomsanewmke@gmail.com.

How are you different from other flower donation programs?

Most other flower donation programs focus on providing flowers to medical facilities such as hospice care and elder care. We think that’s great! We are just interested in serving a different non-profit sector, providing flowers to people who have been displaced from their homes for a variety of reasons. It’s not a competition, there are definitely enough flowers to go around! Our program is also vendor-led, so there is no coordination for the donor to do at all.