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Lord Dufferin IODE pushing on with 25th annual geranium fundraiser

May 1, 2020   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Baker

The Lord Dufferin IODE isn’t letting COVID-19 get in the way of their annual geranium flower sale. 

Celebrating a 25th milestone year for the event, the Orangeville IODE chapter wants to let locals know that the yearly fundraiser is moving ahead as planned. Around 4,000 plants were ordered in December, and will be available for pickup on May 20.

Having been involved in running the event since its inception, IODE member Dori Ebel is excited to celebrate such a significant milestone – even if celebrations, literally speaking, are forced to be kept to a minimum due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is a big year for us, with it being the 25th geranium sale. We had planned big things. We were going to have a real big push on this, but then COVID-19 happened. Our hands have, essentially been tied,” Ms. Ebel said. “But, we had a lot of regular customers saying they hoped we would still be doing this, that the virus wasn’t keeping us down and that we needed to keep going, so that’s what we’re doing.”

In recent years, the fundraiser has netted approximately $7,000 – money that is then reinvested back into the community. With proceeds from the geranium sale, as well as a few other things the organization has planned, IODE is offering two bursaries to students pursuing post-secondary education (one each from Westside Secondary School and Orangeville District Secondary School), and will donate $7,000 to the Orangeville Food Bank and purchase a new piece of equipment for Headwaters Health Care Centre up to $8,000. Ms. Ebel says the organization also hopes to have some money left over to help send some local youth to summer camp once the COVID-19 crisis has subsided. 

The organization has come a long way since that first sale 1996, Dori remarked.

“In our very first year 25 years ago, we sold to 42 customers and now we sell to almost 300 customers. Our first profits were just under $600, while last year it was around $7,000,” Ms. Ebel said. “We do have a following. People know about this. Nobody else in town does a geranium sale, and we’re very proud of what this has become.”

She added, “People have supported us in the past, and continue to support us today. But, at the same time, a lot of people are wondering, or don’t know if we’re going to do this with everything that’s going on. We’re here to say, today, that we are moving forward.

We’re counting on these geraniums being our mainstay, and we’re hoping people will support us if they know we’re open.”

People interested in placing an order can do so by calling Dori at 519-941-1865, Faye at 519-941-6935, or sending an email to lorddufferiniode@gmail.com. The flowers are priced at $36 for a lot of 10 plants, which include red, white, pink and salmon geraniums. Citronella geraniums are also available for $7 per plant. Plants can be picked up between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on May 20, 21 and 22 at 10 & 10 Garden Centre at 634026 Highway 10.

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