Okay DU'ers, is it time for a flower campaign to the young ladies at Rutgers?

[Decruiter]

From a discussion at a thread started by Catwoman earlier about the press conference held by the team at Rutgers it was suggested I start a thread to facilitate sending flowers to them.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=616988&mesg_id=616988

I have found the address, I have the contact info and I have also just talked with a florist that is owned by a Not For Profit organization called Community Options (I know nothing of them, I spoke briefly with another flori
st that hung up on me??, the young lady I spoke to at the other shop is very interested in making something special happen).

If DU'ers would like to do this I'd like to help to make it happen. I've paid no attention much to this until this morning and was fortunate enough to be home and watch the press conference held by Rutgers with the team and their coach.

I have a 19 year old daughter attending A&M in Texas, now I get it. These young women were simply amazing. They desere a tremendous outpouring of love and recognition.

Imus needs to say I'm sorry and I'm retiring.

I have an hour left to get this started, anyone interested.

If there is no response within the next hour then I will assume there is no interest and I'll just send some on my own.

I'd really love to see DU surround these young women the same as most recently happened with Elizabeth Edwards, Helen Thomas always comes to mind along with Senator Byrd.

Waiting to hear from you all.

[Hekate]

1. Glad to give you your first Rec. Excellent idea!

Imus insulted 51% of the human race.

And as one young woman said, (someone else will have to come up with the exact quote) he besmirched a moment of special grace for them as individuals and as a team.

Most of DU gets it.

Hekate

[Hekate]

35. 'Nother kick. Hope this works.

:grouphug:

Hekate

[Decruiter]

47. 27 recommendations showing up and this thread is not on the Greatest Page.

What is up with that?

The other 27 is something about Pet Food insider shares. Interesting, is it not?

[Catherine Vincent]

2. Count me in!

:kick:

[LiberalVoice]

3. I think thats a fantastic idea. nt

[in_cog_ni_to]

4. I'm in. Have you set up a Paypal account? I'd like to see the flowers sent to the ladies

during their private meeting with IMUS, but I know that's not possible.:) IF and WHEN you set up an acct. at Paypal, I'll donate.

[Spazito]

5. I'm in! Those incredible young women and their coach

moved me to tears with their grace, dignity and eloquence.

[nashville_brook]

6. WOOT! great idea!!!!

[ellacott]

7. I'm definately in

I would also like to use Paypal.

[Eurobabe]

8. I'm in

[Infomaniac]

9. I'm in. Where do I contribute?

Let me know.

[goclark]

10. Count me and my Mom in too!

Perfect idea!

And an extra special kind of ROSE for the Coach!

Can you ask the florist if there is a way to make the ROSE/ROSES for the Coach extra special and email me with the cost and description.

Thanks!

[in_cog_ni_to]

11. Here's the Sign Up page for Paypal.com if you don't have an acct.:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_registration-run

It's very easy to get an account. People can send CC payments, cash from other Paypal accts and checks from checking accts. I would accept CC payments or CASH from Paypal accts so you don't have to deal with bounced checks. JMCPO though.:)

[Cha]

12. Thank you, for doing this Decruiter!

I read the link to the "press conference" but not too much was revealed about what the women or coach said.

Could anyone enlighten with more details? Thanks!

[in_cog_ni_to]

13. Here's a Press Conference thread with some of what was said:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x617000

[Cha]

16. Thanks Incog! I

appreciate that! :hi:

I'm glad they gave a press conference..this needs to be brought out in the wide open and busted.

[crispini]

14. I will contribute to that. :)

K&R

[Decruiter]

15. I've not set up a pay pal account, I talked with a couple of florists

in the area. One hung up on me. The second is interested and owned by the NFP. I know there are DU'ers around here involved in past events and with the flower industry.

I'm deferring to someone more knowledgeable than I on the best florist to find. Help!!

On a high and happy note, Imus has friends in NJ, the florist that hung up on me was not just an employee, it was the owner of the shop (Maria at Holly Wood N Vines,[phone], I'd never use them based upon my conversation with her). I called back asking to speak to the owner believing it had to of been an employee that hung up on me. Wow. Prejudice reigns supreme all over this nation, not just in the south. I'm just simply amazed right now.

I'd like to see this happen. I'm running out of time, I have to leave for the airport in an hour and will be off line for a couple of hours after that.

Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way to make this happen? Living in Dallas and trying to make something special happen in NJ is just next to impossible. Anyone here in the NJ area that can help?

[Catherine Vincent]

21. Can't believe you was hung up on.

They should have kindly said, use another florist.

[JimDandy]

31. Thanks for the contact info--I called Maria...

just to let her know that what she did is being memorialized on the web and thru email -- Hope she sees a huge drop in customers.

[in_cog_ni_to]

34. LOL! You did?! How cool are you?!

:loveya:

Stupid wench. She could have had a HUGE sale. Oh well...her loss! and if she likes IMUS, she doesn't DESERVE our money.

[ellenfl]

17. i'm in. kicking eom

[in_cog_ni_to]

18. Working Assets' "Organic Bouquet?" Just a thought. Here's some info and contact info for them

Working assets works on LIBERAL causes only. They are a GREAT organization. Maybe someone at one of the phone numbers can help you?


http://www.organicbouquet.com/

Organic Bouquet: Established in 2001, Organic Bouquet (www.OrganicBouquet.com) pioneered the organic flower market. As a leading voice in the organic movement, it is raising public awareness of critical environmental issues, using sustainably grown flowers as a catalyst for change.

Working Assets: Established in 1985, Working Assets (www.WorkingAssets.com) helps busy people make a difference in the world through everyday activities like talking on the phone. Every time members use one of Working Assets' donation-linked services (Long Distance, Wireless and Credit Card), the company donates a portion of their charges to nonprofit groups working to build a world that is more just, humane, and environmentally sustainable.

Additional Resources:
About organic flowers: www.OrganicBouquet.com
About Working Assets: www.WorkingAssets.com
Press room: www.OrganicBouquet.com/pressroom

Media Contacts: Organic Bouquet, Inc.
Michael Straus, Straus Communications
Office [phone] x 302
Email: [e-mail]

Working Assets
Anne Luesing
Office: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

http://www.organicbouquet.com/i_113/working_assets_partnershop.html

http://www.workingassets.com/aboutwa.cfm

[Decruiter]

41. I'm just off the phone with Michael, he has someone calling me to set

it all up. DU - I need to know when this person calls me what we want to do.

[Decruiter]

44. I've talked with Michael, he was going to have Claudio call me,

1 hour later no Michael, no Claudio, I don't know what to do. If I were in the flower delivery industry (but I'm not) I would move heaven and earth to make something special happen. Guess I'm just naive and idealistic. I expect too much.

We want to make something special happen, we want to spend dollars, we are a problem. We expect too much, as in customer service.

I'm trying DU, to not much avail.

Maybe someone here has the right connection, apparently I do not.

[hwmnbn]

67. Thanks for what you're doing.....

please don't let this stress you out. There is no deadline to meet. This is an expression of appreciation and love and it will unfold. You are being supported and your idea will become reality.

[cascadiance]

19. I'm in! Vivian Stringer deserves better on her unprecedented third final four appearance...

... with a different team.

There's a video you should all watch that was done BEFORE this Imus mess, that was talking about her as Rutgers got in the final four.

I tried to find a direct link, but doesn't seem to be available. To get to it, do the following:

1) Go to: http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/womenbb/index

2) In the Video "box" on the right side of the page, click on "All Women's BB Videos" link.

3) Scroll down and click on icon for the following video: "Stringer's Final Four Joy and Sorrow"

The video will likely make you cry a few tears. As an Iowa alumni, it reminded me of her tough times at Iowa when her husband died then. The video talks about her past final four seasons:

The first two Final Fours she was in, her joy at being there was tempered and overshadowed by tragedies.

The first, at Cheney State, her daughter was struck with Spinal meningitis right before the final four.

The second, her husband died not long before the Final Four when she was at Iowa.

There's a video you should watch here where her players talk about their admiration of her going through adversity and it being almost their mission to do the job on the court, and try to help her enjoy it this time around instead! I think in light of this, it's a criminal act that Imus has to spoil/poison what otherwise could have been a very rewarding experience this year that though not winning it all, was untainted by bad news up to that point.

Imus should be ashamed! The first two tragedies she went through were acts of God, or for those of you that are agnostic, etc. beyond human control. Imus had the ability to keep his mouth under control. That is the crying shame about this.

Let's try to help make this Final Four experience more rewarding this time again for her and her kids who worked hard for her this year to bring her more joy this time around!

[in_cog_ni_to]

20. KICK

:kick:

[bmbmd]

22. Errr-isn't gifting athletes

a violation of NCAA rules? Would be a tragedy to get these young ladies in trouble.

[shireen]

26. i don't think flowers will be a problem ... nt

[ellacott]

27. Wow, never thought about that

I think we should get clarification before we proceed.

Thank you for bring this up.

[cascadiance]

58. Ultimately, even the flowers that Helen got were donated to the VA hospital I think...

So perhaps we could do the same thing here. The flowers sent to the location where they are in "their honor", but ultimately a destination to another VA hospital or the like in their name. I have to believe there's some way we can include them in honor and in spirit, but not necessarily as "owners" of the flowers that would get them in trouble. Might help for someone with a legal background here to check in and say how we might want to proceed with that.

[shireen]

23. i'm in! nt

[shireen]

24. who handled flowers for Elizabeth Edwards, Helen Thomas, and Barbara Boxer?

they could give you some tips on how to pull this off. There must be some logistics to consider, like vases, delivery time (get it to the team when they're at school practice, have it delivered to coach or college president on their behalf, etc...)

I'll bookmark this thread and follow it. If another thread gets opened somewhere, please post it here.

[Catherine Vincent]

70. I think for Helen Thomas was Helder Held.

:(

[SusanaMontana41]

25. I'm in

Great idea!

[cubs4life]

28. Send the flowers to Coach Stringer so we don't get the athletes or the program in trouble

due to NCAA rules.

[ellacott]

30. Great Suggestion

It's best not to take a chance and mess anything up for the team. :)

[goclark]

33. Great idea! The coach would be able to

give some of her flowers away to the players couldn't she?

[HockeyMom]

29. As the mother of a former female college athlete,

I send my hats off to these young women and a major booo to Imus. My daughter had to sweat blood and tears to make the team, practice, travel, play, and STUDY and MAINTAIN her grades. Are people aware they can be kicked off a team if they don't have an acceptable GPA? It happened to two players on my daughter's team. It isn't easy.

I hope these young women get the recognition they truly deserve.

[Forkboy]

64. If anything the class they've shown has made them shine brighter than they would have otherwise.

A perfect example of turning a negative into a positive.

[wicket]

32. Wonderful idea!!!

:thumbsup:

[Decruiter]

36. Okay DU, let us make something special happen, I have been given the day off.

Let's go!

I need to hear from the flower people. Who is best to contact to make this happen.

Send me a number, call me, the rest of my afternoon is devoted to making this happen, these ladies deserve some special appreciation.

TahitiNut said it earlier in another thread, every color of the rainbow!

I want roses, gerber daisies, I want color exploding in their behalf with lots of love and warm wishes.

[crispini]

37. Helderheld is not around anymore.

She was key in some of the earlier flower drives. I suggest you just make it happen. Pick a florist that will accept contributions one-by-one and you can have donors phone in with their credit card numbers directly to the florist. Alternatively, set up a PayPal account for yourself, collect all the money, and make one big buy. We used an organic rose vendor for Helen Thomas, I think. If you use a florist, make sure they can handle the delivery and setup.

[cascadiance]

39. Helderheld told me the florist she used was Organic Bouquet.

http://www.organicbouquet.com/

She told me to ask for Johnny there, when earlier I was looking to try and set up flowers for Carol Lam. Progressive Post actually went through another florist for this stuff I think when we did it here in San Diego...



She warned me that the biggest part of the work for this effort is to have feet on the ground to go put in place the flowers and take the pictures, etc. That the getting the money, etc. was the easy part.

Where's Helderheld? Hadn't noticed she'd left (other than an absence of posts in these threads).

[crispini]

42. Here.

:(

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x583305#596728

Hopefully she will change her mind.

Yes, if we can get the florist to actually do the delivery and setup and maybe take a pic or two (might cost a bit more) then that might be worth it -- I can see where actually finding feet on the ground would be the hard part.

[goclark]

38. Can you ask the florist to take a pohotograph or is there

a DU person in the area?

[Divine Discontent]

43. I agree with this post goclark

(and how I wish clark would run), but yeah, I'd donate through paypal a few bucks, ask a DU moderator to send us all an email who's written in this thread, I'm sure you'll get enough to pay for it that way, and if others want to contribute, good thing.

www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<-- check it out, top '08 stuff

[Justpat]

40. Count me in.

Great idea.

[Lisa]

45. give it the old college try!

I'd be happy to kick in a few bucks.

[Decruiter]

46. I started at noon in Dallas trying to find a florist in NJ to try and make this

happen. It is now almost 6:00pm my time and I give up. I've talked with organic, someone was going to call, not.

I've talked with several different shops in the area and none seem to be interested in doing business with us. I'm flumoxed, dumbfounded and exasperated. I give up. If someone else can make something happen tomorrow, let me know.

As of right now I don't know what to do. Does anyone here have any suggestions? Is there something going on in that area of the country I am not aware of? Did I just believe that I lived in the most ugly part of the nation being in Dallas? I believe based upon my experience this afternoon that Dallas must be heaven and NJ must be hell. I really feel sorry for what this nation is.


The address for the team is

Women's Basketball Office
Lewis Brown Athletic Center
83 Rockafeller Road
Piscataway, NJ 04554
phone number is 732 445-4251

I'm going to hold tight until tomorrow morning, apparently everyone has gone home for the day.

Is there alot of prejudice in NJ or are people in the NE just generally jerks? Why would any flower shop turn down a potentially large order?

[goclark]

48. What about an online company?

[Decruiter]

51. Do you know of a reputable one? I'm at a loss. I try always to keep

it local, it appears maybe that always might not be the way to go.

[goclark]

62. Here's a link to online flowers but...maybe

the flower idea is not working out because there is something else that could be better.
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLR,GGLR:2006-39,GGLR:en&q=fresh+flowers+online

What if we made a donate to the school toward a project near and dear to the Girl's Basketball team?

I saw that suggestion down the thread a bit.

[shireen]

50. <deleted question, found answer in one of the posts>

[Bluebear]

52. 'are people in the NE just generally jerks?'

You are trying to send flowers to a team from the NE, remember. Just sayin' :hi:

[Decruiter]

55. The team members today moved me to tears, I cried. The people I've

spent the afternoon on the phone with have been awful! With the exception of Michael at Organic Flowers, but his people never followed through and there was a young woman at the University named Alex.

Other than that it has been an exceptionally uncomfortable afternoon and helped remind me why I always dumped the opportunity to have a sales territory in the North East. Especially NJ, NY and Delaware. What is up, do they take classes in exceptional rudeness?

[Bluebear]

60. I know, they can have a different approach

That said, service in America is a dying commodity anywhere!

[Decruiter]

66. Boy Howdy and then some. I was shocked and amazed this afternoon.

Wow. What a tempest in a teapot. A florist hung on me, refused several hundred dollars in business? A florist in the town that this team is from?

There just must be so much more to the story and the owner of the shop I called must be a fan of Imus. I am very sad to see this.

[Scout1071]

49. You know what might be better? Take the money and buy season tickets.

Donate them to local girls or whatever, but do something to help women's basketball and the Rutgers program. Collect and offer a small scholarship of some sort.

[shireen]

53. good option ... nt

[Hamlette]

54. k&r, let us know what you decide to do and where to send some money. I'm in. n/t

[Decruiter]

57. I'm on hold, I can't even find this thread on the first page. I must be missing somethingl.

I don't know what to do. Has this thread been removed from GD, am I missing it somewhere? With 20+ recs it is not even showing up on the Greatest Page? I must be missing something.

[Maddy McCall]

56. I bet Rutgers has a scholarship fund for minority students.

If y'all can't find a florist, and if research shows that sending flowers will be against NCAA regulations (I really think it is. Sorry.), then why not donate to a scholarship fund for minority students at Rutgers?

Then, y'all can send a card to the coach and players letting them know how much and why you donated.

[shireen]

61. there's a donation site at

https://secure.entango.com/donate/GSuEdXhgRpV

One of the options, under "choose an athletic program" is Women's Basketball,

But how do we coordinate it and come up with a tally for DU contributions?

Perhaps someone should just call the team office, and speak to the coach or assistant coach about how to best honor that team? I'm sorry I cannot volunteer right now because I'm swamped.

[femrap]

59. I'd be happy to contribute. nt

[Ilsa]

63. I think maybe flowers for the coach and gals and a gift to the Women's

Athletic Program at Rutgers would be cool, and I'd be happy to toss in a few bucks.

[Decruiter]

65. I heard from Michael and if flowers are what we want to do, Heather

at Organic will be in touch with us in the morning. It is up to you guys.

I'll help in any way I can in the morning, I will be at work and I would love to have someone here step up to help carry the ball.

I am sorry you guys, I was just incredibly moved by the testimony of these young women and felt like they needed some DU Love.

[IndyOp]

68. You need help from the Rutgers Athletic Office & DU volunteers, I think...

Contact the Athletic Office to ask them if the team members & coach will be together on campus sometime over the next few days - somehow determine a location & time at which you will present the flowers.

I think your next step might be to go to the New Jersey / New York state forums and get people to volunteer to be on the ground - Helderheid had 4-5 volunteers set up the roses for Helen in her offices -- they got the staff to let them set up the flowers in a conference room. The flowers delivered by the business Helderheid used didn't offer bunches of flowers, the flowers came in boxes and the volunteers on the ground arrived a few hours early to put them all in vases and arrange them nicely before Helen arrived. Even if the delivery company offers bouquets - you still need to get volunteers on the ground to present them, say something, and take pictures...

I really, really, really like your idea - I would LOVE to counteract Imus' vile by surrounding these young women with flowers.

:hug: :hug: :hug:

[mconvente]

69. As a current Rutgers student, thank you from the bottom of my heart

We love our women's basketball team and what they stand for - unity, excellence (in the class and on the court), opportunity, and above all, class. Look how eloquent the ladies were this afternoon at the press conference. They could have railed against Imus, but they instead decided to withhold judgment before meeting with him, to get "the whole story" - even though we here at DU really know what's going in on Imus.

As an executive board member of the Rutgers College Governing Association (the student gov. of Rutgers), we unanimously passed a resolution condemning Imus' hateful words, and what it overall means about the issue of racism and sexism in our society. It reads (I give permission to post the entire document since I'm on the committee - Executive - who sponsored this resolution):

Resolution Condemning Don Imus’ Comments Towards Women’s Basketball Team


Whereas, as the governing body of the largest student body at Rutgers-New Brunswick, the RCGA seeks to express the will of the student body and to comment on matters of student concern; and

Whereas, the Rutgers Women’s Basketball Team successfully made it to the NCAA Championship Game in April 2007; and

Whereas, on April 4th, the host of “Imus in the Morning”, Don Imus, made extremely offensive racist, sexist remarks towards members of the Rutgers Women’s Basketball Team, which was broadcasted to millions of people around the world; and

Whereas, over the past few days, Rutgers University and the women’s basketball team have been at the center of an embroiled controversy over Imus’s racist remarks; and

Whereas, Rutgers University prides itself on its diversity, and will not tolerate the hateful remarks made by Imus towards our students; and

Whereas, members of the Rutgers community, President McCormick, Athletic Director Mulcahy, Coach Stringer, and the NCAA have all released statements denouncing the comments; and

Whereas, many people around the US have publicly commented on the matter, on hundreds of media outlets; and

Whereas, Don Imus’ comments reflect the larger social problem of racism in America; and

Whereas, Don Imus has apologized for his remarks, but as a public figure, he must be held to a higher standard of conduct; and

Whereas, MSNBC announced that they will suspend his broadcast from the network for two weeks in response to the comments, however this punishment does not reflect the offensive nature of his comments; and

Whereas, the RCGA supports the members of the women’s basketball team, and the many student organizations responding to Imus’ comments, such as the United Black Council and various other groups, notably the NAACP Student Chapter; and

Whereas, Don Imus’ comments insulted not only the members of the team and the university community, but communities all around the country; and

Be It Hereby Resolved, the Rutgers College Governing Association encourages students at the University to turn this act of bigotry into a teachable moment about racism at the university, and urges all members of the Rutgers community to engage in dialogue about racism to understand this source of hatred around the country, and to work towards breaking the racial barriers at the university; and

Be it Further Resolved, the RCGA denounces the comments made by Don Imus, and urges MSNBC to fire Imus over the hateful, offensive comments made on public airways and television; and

Be It Finally Resolved, the RCGA urges President McCormick and leaders of the University to explicitly call for Don Imus to be terminated from his position as host of “Imus in the Morning”.


As you can see, we strongly support our Women's team and took a strong stand against blatant racism and sexism. The Rutgers community stands with you, members of DU, and we thank you for your effort to give flowers to our Women's basketball team! :yourock:

[Decruiter]

71. Peace. You all are so very welcome. We are not done yet. n/t

[Spazito]

81. Excellent resolution!

I was moved to tears watching the press conference yesterday, the coach and those wonderful young women were so eloquent with their words, carried themselves with such grace and dignity. I didn't think I could hurt more for them then I did before the press conference, I was wrong.

The pride your College has in this team and, indeed, in the College itself was certainly evident in both the press conference and the passage of this Resolution.

Thank you for posting it!

[aaronbees]

72. These flower campaigns sure show the very best of DU

Despite all the craziness here sometimes, DU has a big, big heart. That's undeniable.

[the other one]

73. That sounds stupid to me.

When does Donovan MccNabb get his flowers?

Maybe we need a "victims of racism fund" which we could give to all minorities that have faced bigotry.

Maybe I need some flowers. Women are always calling me wimp because I wouldn't be able to bare the pain of child-birth. Its insensitive and it hurts, because I can't even try. They make me feel bad for my physical limitations.

Flowers fo everyone!!!

[Stephanie]

75. Poor you. How about we do a fundraiser for you?

We'll raise ten bucks to buy you a grammar and spelling textbook.

[AspenRose]

80. Or maybe a clue.

Geez.

[ellacott]

76. This is truly unbelievable

Wow. I'm shaking my head at you. Please tell me you were TRYING to make a joke. If you were serious I see why the progressives are having problems being taken seriously and constantly getting our beat by the Republican machine.

There is a saying, "Give a person their flowers while they are still alive and can still smell them. Don't wait until they are dead and can't smell them or enjoy them."

Giving flowers is a token of appreciation. It's no different then sending a greeting card to someone. It's unfortunate that you can't relate to any of this. This Imus issue is not just about minorities. This has been mentioned numerous times and closed minded people keep ignoring it.

If you don't want to give flowers that's your right. Stop criticizing people because they have compassion.

You don't need flowers.

[City Lights]

79. You poor thing. Here, this should help...

[The Count]

74. Yes! And here's the Daily news cover:

[goclark]

77. When do we start giving the money? Will you make a separate

thread?

Can we donate by paypals?

[Catherine Vincent]

78. Any updates?

[Spazito]

82. I found two florists in the area on Locate-a-Flowershop.com

I checked to make sure neither of them were "Marie on Holly Wood and Vine", here is the link:

http://www.locateaflowershop.com/states/NJ/Piscataway.asp

I hope this helps!

[goclark]

83. Any updates in another thread? nt