Curbside Chronicle vendors to sell bouquets
Wondering what to get for that special person on Valentine's Day?
The Curbside Chronicle, published by The Homeless Alliance to provide employment to Oklahoma City's homeless population, will sell flower arrangements Wednesday through Friday for Valentine's Day. The bouquets will be made and sold by vendors who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness.
“For customers, it's a quick, easy way to support someone working their way out of homelessness while getting a beautiful product in exchange,” said Ranya O'Connor, director of The Curbside Chronicle. “For vendors, it's an additional training and employment opportunity.”
Individuals wearing green Curbside Chronicle vests will sell the small bouquets on sidewalks, in public spaces and at intersections in Oklahoma City. The organization also will have pop-up booths located at DNA Galleries in The Plaza District, Leadership Square downtown and Stella Nova on N Western Ave. where floral arrangements may be purchased.
Flowers may be preordered at www.CurbsideFlowers.org before Monday and picked up at one the pop-up booth locations.
“I enjoy selling Curbside because I get to interact with people on a daily basis, which I love. I think the flower campaign is a good thing because I am making a product that helps people feel loved,” said Jamie Shaw, a Curbside Chronicle vendor.
Shaw says she uses the money she earns from selling the publication to pay for transportation to see her son every week and take him out to dinner.
As part of its floral program, The Curbside Chronicle recently won a grant from the Oklahoma City Community Foundation to help fund a brick-and-mortar flower shop that will employ people transitioning out of homelessness.
Curbside vendors will be trained and paid to create flower arrangements and to sell them at public locations. The organization hopes to open the flower shop by 2020.