About This Project
What we are doing – Mindful Break
Florapeutic is a newly established social enterprise in North Parramatta aiming to repurpose fresh flowers and foliage used in events that are otherwise wasted, and incorporate them into therapeutic workshops.
Our “rescue and repurpose” process is already in place as we collect blooms from Sydney events and donate them to local aged care in the City of Parramatta LGA. Next, we would like to maximise the soothing power of these recycled blooms so we will run our flower arranging workshops Mindful Break for these clients and we need your support to make this happen sooner in Jan 2021!
Mindful Break is a social therapeutic flower arranging experience in a group embracing the practice of mindfulness to help lower stress and anxiety. When we designed this workshop, we have put the individuals in aged care and hospitals at the forefront. They will primarily be benefitted, especially those suffering from depression and social isolation when their families are not able or allowed to visit during this uncertain period.
Considering the pandemic and vulnerability of these groups, we will run our guided workshops within the City of Parramatta LGA via video conferencing with the support of the staff from the client-side and repurposed flowers delivered.
Why we are doing it
The reason we run this project is to help reduce waste and anxiety all at once. We would also like to increase the awareness of the issues and involvement of our communities in the City of Parramatta.
There are tonnes of flowers wasted each year from weddings, social and corporate events. When some of these stems are not disposed and composted appropriately, it releases significant greenhouse gases (methane and leachate) in the landfill that does harm to our planet.
We believe that we can all do a little to help making a difference. Hence, we encourage community involvement in reducing floristry waste by donating event florals and vases, as well as disposing the flower waste in green bins or composting once their lifespan is over, to minimise the release of greenhouse gases.
Besides, evidence shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant impact to our mental health, whether it is the fear of the diseases, the uncertainty of the situation and the unpredictable impact on the economy. There is an estimate of 25-33% of the community experiencing high levels of worry, anxiety and panic during similar pandemics. Since a number of restrictions are still in place, the need for looking after our mental health, our families’ and our communities’ have amplified.
In Florapeutic, we emphasise that mental well-being is as important as physical well-being, and practise mindfulness is a proven process that helps to lower stress and anxiety, as well as boost mental wellbeing. It is a simple self-care technique suitable for everyone in all abilities. We choose florals as a medium because it triggers our senses and has the power to sooth our souls.
Who runs this project
I am Karin Lee, the Founder of Florapeutic.
I have experienced the waste issue first-hand in our wedding when we could not carry all the florals home at the end of the night, thus I feel the sadness of throwing the beautiful blooms away in every single event. My passion for flowers led me to learn floristry skills, then I soon realised that a lot of waste is produced in the industry and decided to play a part in minimising the impact.
Having been in the corporate world for over 12 years with a successful record in organising events and managing projects, I believe it is time to leverage my expertise to make a difference so that our world becomes a better place to live. Now I am working full time on Florapeutic and its floral arranging workshop Mindful Break.
2021 will be an exciting year for us as a few collaborations are underway. Since we have launched this year, I have received support and referrals from event suppliers who also appreciate the stems and the idea of recycling them. Mindful Break has also been supported by City of Parramatta's Social Investment program. We also recruit floristry students for operation so they can gain work experience as part of their studies.
How you can help us kick off Mindful Break in Jan 2021
To donate to this project, simply select a reward from the list on the right and donate.
If you would like to donate without a reward or a lesser or greater amount than the one's offered, click “Support Project” under the video and enter an amount of your choice.
Please also share our campaign page to as many people as you can, so we can reach our goals quicker and do more good things to give back to our communities!
If you have any questions, please email us: [email protected]
Follow us on social media:
www.facebook.com/florapeutic
www.instagram.com/florapeutic
Thank you for making a difference with us!
Sneak peek of the rewards
Use Of Funds
$5,000 Tipping Point Goal
These funds will be able to subsidise:
- the costs of rescuing events flowers
- the costs of running Mindful Break using these stems – 4-7 workshops for about 35 attendees
- our website build - $1000
$10,000 Stretch Goal
If we receive $10,000+, we’ll be able to:
- build a small team with volunteers to expand our capacity to rescue more flowers and run more workshops – 8-16 workshops for about 80 attendees
- build our website - $1000
Latest News
Nov 28, 2020
Mindful Break crowdfunding campaign - Week 4 updates
Hi supporters,
It has been an eventful week!
I had my first ever live tv interview with Ticker TV. It was a great opportunity to tell the world who we are, what we do, our WHY and how we help minimise the floral waste and improve mental health. It was a nerve-wrecking experience and I will try not to worry about my script next time 😉 Click the image below to watch the recording.
I also met Julie Owens MP - Member for Parliament to discuss about floristry waste and mental health affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, why Florapeutic steps in and how our community can get involved. She also kindly invited her audience to support the 5 community projects supported by the City of Parramatta - Parramatch. Watch her video here.
Only 2 days to go before our crowdfunding campaign ends on Mon 30 Nov. How do you feel? I am excited but also nervous!
I am excited because we have raised $4,640 as of today and are so close to our target! I am grateful for all the support that I received in the past month, not only the generous contributions, but also the trust from my family, friends, coaches, mentors, business buddies, business owners, entrepreneurs and the supporters that I have never met before – they are the fuels that keep me going!
I also feel nervous because we only have 2 more days to raise the remaining $340. If we fall short of our target by next Mon 30 Nov, we won’t receive any of the money we’ve raised so far – they will be returned to the supporters who have already contributed. That’s right! We could end up with $0 after all the hard work! 😭
While I am trying my very best to achieve this, you can help to share this initiative with your network, let them know you are part of it and invite them to join us to make a difference. We have prepared a sample text for you to spread the word via emails, instant messages and social media. Simply copy, paste and hit send with the below:
I helped reduce flower waste and anxiety for people suffering from depression and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please join me to support Mindful Break by Florapeutic – choose your reward and make a pledge by 30 Nov 2020 at startsomegood.com/mindfulbreak
I would also like to invite you to follow our journey on social media:
www.facebook.com/florapeutic
www.instagram.com/florapeutic
Thank you so much for your support! I hope to bring you more good news in the next couple of days!
Nov 23, 2020
Mindful Break by Florapeutic – Week 3 updates
Hi supporters,
As suggested last week, we have our first-ever media coverage, also my personal first, in a local newspaper Parra News. See attached the news article and hope you enjoy the read!
We are also in the last week of this crowdfunding campaign. As of today, we have raised $2,550 which is 50% of the way to our goal! So, this week is the last chance for us to make this campaign successful in order to kick off the workshops in Jan 2021.
We now add more Business Sponsorships opportunities. Any contributions will make a difference in our community with a long-term impact. Below are examples of how sponsorships will help:
$250 = sponsors 1 workshop with 5 participants
$500 = sponsors 2 workshops with 10 participants
To thank their support, we will organise a flower workshop exclusively for our Business Sponsors, a Certificate of Appreciation and a Special Thanks post on our social media pages. If you know any businesses would be interested in supporting our initiative, please let me know or suggest them to email me before 30 Nov 2020.
Remember, we need to hit the tipping point of $5,000 by next Monday 30 Nov 2020 in order to receive the funds raised. So please share our campaign to as many people as you can! The more support we receive, the more good things we can do to give back to our communities!
If you have not done yet, we have prepared a sample text for you to spread the word for us via emails, instant messages and social media. Simply copy, paste and hit send with the below:
I helped reduce flower waste and anxiety for people suffering from depression and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please join me to support Mindful Break by Florapeutic – make a pledge and pick your reward by 30 Nov 2020 at startsomegood.com/mindfulbreak
Thank you so much for supporting us!
Nov 16, 2020
Week 2 updates
Hi supporters,
We have just passed Week 2 and as of today we have raised $2,350 which is 47% on the way to our goal! As a new social enterprise who has started few months ago, I’m proud of where we are at!
Here are also a few wins from past week:
- While running this crowdfunding campaign, I have learnt so much within a short timeframe and virtually met a number of amazing people who appreciate our work, plus new customers who trust our services and come onboard to help reduce flower waste.
- We gain support by a local media Parra
News and we will be covered in their newspaper this week. Stay tune and make sure
you grab a free copy if you are in the local areas. - We have prepared some Message Cards and
Framed Floral Artworks for sale before Christmas. For those who made a pledge
with these rewards, I am looking forward to making these for you once our
campaign is successful.
This campaign is finishing on 30 Nov 2020 so we have less than 2 weeks to reach $5,000. So please help us share our campaign to as many people as you can! If you haven’t done yet, we’ve prepared a sample text for you to spread the word for us via emails, instant messages and social media. Simply copy, paste and hit send with the below:
I helped reduce flower waste and anxiety for people suffering from depression and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please join me to support Mindful Break by Florapeutic – make a pledge and pick your reward by 30 Nov 2020 at startsomegood.com/mindfulbreak
You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates!
www.facebook.com/florapeutic
www.instagram.com/florapeutic
Thank you so much for supporting us!
Karin
Founder of Florapeutic
Nov 08, 2020
Week 1 updates
Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels
Hi supporters,
Do you know you’re the first awesome bunch supporting our project? I can’t stress enough the important part you play in this journey. We’ve just passed $2,000 which is 41% of the way to our goal and it’s all because of YOU! I’m grateful for your help and excited to see this project coming to life soon!
Remember, we need to hit the tipping point of $5,000 by 30 Nov 2020 in order to receive any of the funds raised. So please share our campaign to as many people as you can! The more support we receive, the more good things we can do to give back to our communities!
We’ve prepared a sample text for you to spread the word for us via emails, instant messages, social media…you name it. Simply copy, paste and hit send with the below:
I helped reduce flower waste and anxiety for people suffer from depression and social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please join me to support Mindful Break by Florapeutic - pledge and pick your reward by 30 Nov 2020 at startsomegood.com/mindfulbreak
You can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more latest news!
www.facebook.com/florapeutic
www.instagram.com/florapeutic
Thank you so much again for your contribution!
Karin
Founder of Florapeutic
