Wilmington Flower Market
Wilmington Flower Market Inc. is a tradition, a corporation and an all volunteer fundraising organization dedicated to improving the lives of Delaware’s children.
Most Delawarean’s are familiar with this annual event, but for the volunteers, it is a year’s worth of hard work and planning, capped off by a fun-filled three-day event at Rockford Park. The dedicated volunteers of Flower Market work with one goal in mind and that is to help make children’s dreams come true. When you visit the Flower Market, you will feel the excitement. You’ll hear the ring of laughter in the air as children share their delight in all the carnival rides and games. You’ll find a large selection of plants and flowers for your garden, as well as a multitude of crafts and merchant wares for sale. As you stroll through the park and listen to live music performed on the WDEL stage, you’ll find a variety of delicious food, and meet local celebrities such as Miss Delaware. This well-known tradition is held every Mother’s Day weekend, Thursday and Friday 10am-8pm, Saturday 10am-7pm.
However, Flower Market’s success comes from much more than this event in May. Over the years, there have been a variety of other events added including fundraisers such as the advertising supplement, art auction and fashion show. Originally conceived as “rain insurance,” these events have become a major source of income for the Flower Market beneficiaries.
The money raised is distributed by the Board of Managers to a wide range of charities throughout the state of Delaware supporting children. The board members are assigned agency visitations by the Beneficiary Chairman ensuring all agencies are personally visited and meet the required guidelines. Reports are prepared after each visit and a final beneficiary meeting is held in June to determine the recipients. Flower Market guidelines state that the purpose for funding must be used for something that will benefit children directly. Operating expenses are not considered eligible. To date, the Flower Market has awarded more than $4 million to Delaware’s children.
A corps of 6,000 dedicated volunteers drives this complex organization with high energy and sharp professionalism. Today’s typical Flower Market volunteer exemplifies the adage: “If you want a job done well, ask a busy person to do it.” Most workers must borrow the time for these efforts from their full-time careers and busy lives. Spanning generations, the volunteers have several things in common: a love of children, a determination to contribute to their community, a conviction that they can make a difference, and a belief that joy is contagious.