When we first started out, there was no donation jar. This was, after all, supposed to be just an exchange. If you didn’t have a plant, we’d take an IOU or ask you to pay it forward and do a good deed for someone else. Turns out, that’s a foreign concept to some in this money-changing-hands economy.
Hence, we added a donation jar and promised to give the completely voluntary proceeds to the Friends of Kaiser PTSA. The money could go toward helping defray costs for students and enhance their extracurricular endeavors and clubs. This made everyone happy and it was a win all-around.
Starting in 2021, we started using some of the money to defray plant exchange costs and help to expand the program. Donations grew even more. Intuitively, this made sense: we used a small portion to buy potting soil, 4″ pots and plant labels. This helped to make the product more easily identifiable and we also increased the number of plants being distributed.
Bottom line: In 2021, you donated $2,190.36. We spent $280.59 (12.8%) on plant supplies. The remaining $1,909.77 was given to the Kaiser PTSA to support teachers, students and our education system. In the nearly five years we’ve been doing this exchange, this is a record. Mahalo to all.