AVID sold 675 roses this Valentine’s Day as part of their largest fundraiser of the year. Students pay $5 to deliver anonymous roses to their classmates.
The tradition started 15 years ago when a parent who works as a florist offered to sell discounted roses to AVID to help them make a profit. “It’s a way of spreading a little bit of love and joy and making people happy, while the funds go towards the AVID program,” AVID Program Coordinator Erika Shepard said.
“It’s a really big sale, and we make a lot of profits from it, which is really great for the program,” she said. “Last year we sold 600 roses.”
Preparation for the deliveries starts weeks in advance with AVID students signing up to take orders during lunch. On Valentine’s Day, students arrive before school starts to prepare the rose grams. “We cut the stems off, we cut the thorns off, we put them in a little thing of water, and we attach a note if they wrote one,” junior Melani Pleitez said.
“It takes probably 50 people and three hours to get it all put together,” Shepard said.
Most of the funds from the rose grams go toward a three-day overnight college tour, which allows students to visit four to six colleges they may apply to. “It’s a really cool experience. You learn a lot by going to see the colleges firsthand,” junior Gabi Jansen said.
AVID also uses the funds for its annual 3.0 lunch, which celebrates students who have a 3.0 GPA or higher, and to buy school supplies for students in need.
Beyond a fundraiser, rose grams are a way to spread joy among students and staff. “I think that the most fun part is handing them out to people and seeing their reactions when they get a rose, especially when you can tell that they didn’t know that they would receive one,” Jansen said.
“It makes me happy to see people receive roses and just see that joy,” Shepard added.
