MONROE — In what has become a rite of late Spring, Green Haven, an advocate for domestic violence victims and prevention, is once again hosting its annual Mother’s Day Plant sale on the square in downtown Monroe and Monticello.
“We’re hoping to have our best sale yet,” said Erika Borowitz, a community response advocate for the non-profit agency that serves hundreds of clients each year.
The sale will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, May 10; and from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 11. The Monroe site for the event is on the North Side of the Square at First National Bank, while the Monticello site is at Symdon Chevrolet.
Every year, a significant number of volunteers and donations are required to organize the sale, which plays a crucial role in Green Haven’s yearly fundraising efforts.
Borowitz said that once again this year the sale features high-quality annuals and perennials from Ahrens Acres in Brodhead, ideal for spring planting. Hanging baskets and potted arrangements are another crowd favorite for Mother’s Day, organizers say.
“It contributes a lot to our annual budget,” said Borowitz, adding that Ahrens Acres provides the plants at wholesale cost to help the agency make more from the sale. “We are able to profit between $3,500 and $4,000 each year from the sale.”
In addition to the break on costs, Borowitz and her colleagues say they are also grateful to Ahrens for providing a semi truck and driver to deliver the plants to each location.
For the first time in the sale’s more than 30-year history, Green Haven has allowed for online orders, which already have generated about an additional $2,000 in sales.
The event has something for everyone, she said, including the popular Kid’s Corner. That is where kids can pick out a plant or plant a seed in a pot for mom that comes with a Happy Mother’s Day card.
Green Haven Family Advocates is a grassroots organization founded in 1982, originally as a safe house for battered women and their children. Today it offers many services to victims and works to prevent domestic violence.
The agency serves over 500 clients from the area each year and it receives some funding from both the United Way and the federal government.
