Lorri Grubb, the head of the special needs department at Pella High, had her life skills students take part in a Valentine’s Day fundraiser. On January 11, she sent out an email to the student body telling them about “Valentine Roses for your sweetheart.” Students could come into Grubb’s room and order roses for their special someone. The order could be placed from January 16 until February 10. Then, the participant could either give the rose to the person or have it delivered anonymously on Valentine’s Day. Grubb and her life skills class have been spreading Valentine’s Day love since 2009.

“We were trying to come up with a creative, new idea for a fundraiser for our class, and we decided to give it a try. It’s been a fun way to spread a little ‘Valentine’s Day love’ to those who wish to participate in our school district,” said Grubb.

Before the flowers were delivered, Grubb’s students stripped the thorns, filled the water containers, wrapped the flowers, and got them ready to be delivered or picked up. This year, the money made from the flowers will go to the Stephen Memorial Animal Shelter in Oskaloosa. This animal shelter houses animals from several countries and can use the money to buy supplies to help take care of them. Grubb delivered some old towels to them over Christmas break and felt like they were very appreciative of the help and decided to donate the money to them. She asked her students what they thought about donating to the shelter, and they agreed that it was a good idea.

This year, Grubb and her students raised 225 dollars and sold 78 roses. While the money raised from the flowers goes to charity, it is not the only benefit.

“Giving and/or getting flowers always brightens up one’s day!  It’s fun to see the students, faculty, and staff order one for a particular ‘sweetheart’,” said Grubb. “We also make it possible for someone to receive an anonymous rose from a ‘secret admirer.’ That’s probably my favorite part of this, seeing the recipient try to figure out who might have gotten them a rose.”