Candace Oliver, a designer at Royer’s flagship store in Lebanon, said she enjoys making people laugh and smile and loves teaching.
She delivered on each of those counts with her June 22 visit to Cornwall Manor, an active senior living community in Lebanon County. Candace presented a flower-arranging class to Cornwall Manor residents.
“I love doing stuff like that,” Candace said. “Love it, love it, love it.”
She showed the residents how to tape a vase, creating a grid that keeps flowers standing up. Step by step, she guided them in adding greens, selecting flowers and completing their arrangements.
A Lebanon resident since age 7, Candace graduated from Lebanon High School in 1998. In November, she will celebrate her fourth anniversary with Royer’s.
Meanwhile, Cornwall Manor is celebrating her visit.
Stacia Layser, Cornwall Manor’s public relations, development and volunteer coordinator, wrote in an email to Candace:
“Your attention to detail, energy and compassion were what made this a great event for our residents. Many of them are still talking about how much fun they had and the beautiful arrangements they made.”
Royer’s Kids Club celebrates start of new school year with free event Aug. 22
Before they go back to school, they can go back to the Royer’s Kids Club.
We’ll celebrate the start of a new school year with a free kids club event Aug. 22 in each of our 16 stores.
Children ages 5 to 12 will have an opportunity to create an arrangement adorned with a “back-to-school” stick-in. Participants also will receive a free balloon.
Time slots are available at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Registration is required by calling your nearest Royer’s store.
Power of Pink: Royer’s donates $2,000 to PA Breast Cancer Coalition
With proceeds from the sale of our Power of Pink bouquet, Royer’s recently donated $2,000 to the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition.
Ten dollars from each bouquet sold is earmarked for breast cancer groups. The bouquet is available year-round.
Based in Lebanon, the PA Breast Cancer Coalition represents, supports and serves breast cancer survivors and their families in Pennsylvania through educational programming, legislative advocacy and breast cancer research grants.
Photo, Jennifer Pensinger, executive director, PA Breast Cancer Coalition, is flanked by Royer’s Barry Spengler, vice president of operations, left, and Tom Royer, senior vice president.
Royer’s donates $2,000 to nonprofit Feel Your Boobies Foundation
Royer’s recently donated $2,000 to the Feel Your Boobies Foundation.
The donation reflects proceeds from the sale of our Power of Pink bouquet, which is available year-round. With every bouquet sold, Royer’s earmarks $10 to breast cancer organizations.
A Middletown-based nonprofit, Feel Your Boobies promotes proactive breast health in young women. The foundation’s college outreach program provides free breast health education materials to nearly 200 college health centers in 38 states.
Photo from left: Barry Spengler, vice president of operations, Royer’s; Leigh Hurst, founder/president, Feel Your Boobies Foundation; Tom Royer, senior vice president, Royer’s.
Watch Fox 43’s Amy Lutz make an arrangement in less than a minute
For someone who claims not to have a green thumb, Fox 43 Morning News’ Amy Lutz got the hang of floral arranging pretty quickly.
“How do you know where to put them?” she asked Barry Spengler, Royer’s vice president of operations, as he handed her cut carnations, daisies and roses.
“Well, that’s the beauty of it,” Barry said. “There is no right or wrong to it.”
Barry returned to Fox 43 to talk about Royer’s fifth annual “Stems Hunger” food drive to benefit the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and the Greater Berks Food Bank. A Royer’s Kids Club event will help to kick off the food drive, which runs June 20-27.
Children ages 5 to 12 will get to do what Lutz did: make a floral arrangement in an empty food can.
She wasn’t entirely satisfied with her work, but Barry insisted that once she placed a flower in the can, she had to leave it.
“What if it doesn’t fit right?” she said.
“It looks wonderful,” he said. “It’s in the eye of the beholder.”
You can view the full segment here:
Kids club: books for families to read aloud together
As we noted in the June 2015 issue of the Royer’s Kids Club newsletter, Buds, it’s important to keep reading and learning even during summer vacation. Here’s an expanded version of a list of books that families can read aloud together that we touched on in Buds:
“Mr. Popper’s Penguins” by Richard and Florence Atwater
The unexpected delivery of a large crate containing an Antarctic penguin changes the life and fortunes of Mr. Popper, a house painter obsessed by dreams of the Polar regions.
“The End of the Beginning” by Avi
Avon the snail and Edward, a take-charge ant, set off together on a journey to an undetermined destination in search of unspecified adventures.
“The Penderwicks” by Jeanne Birdsall
While vacationing with their father in the Berkshire Mountains, four lovable sisters, ages four through twelve, share adventures with a local boy, much to the dismay of his snobbish mother.
“A Bear Called Paddington” by Michael Bond
A very small bear found by Mr. and Mrs. Brown at Paddington Station becomes a member of the family.
“The Mouse and the Motorcycle” by Beverly Cleary
A reckless young mouse named Ralph makes friends with a boy in room 215 of the Mountain View Inn and discovers the joys of motorcycling.
“My Father’s Dragon” by Ruth Stiles Gannett
A young boy runs away from home to rescue an abused baby dragon held captive to serve as a free 24-hour, seven-days-a-week ferry for the lazy wild animals living on Wild Island.
“The Year of Billy Miller” by Kevin Henkes
Seven-year-old Billy Miller starts second grade with a bump on his head and a lot of worries, but by the end of the year he has developed good relationships with his teacher, his little sister, and his parents and has learned many important lessons.
“Toys Go Out” by Emily Jenkins
Lumphy is a stuffed buffalo. StingRay is a stuffed stingray. And Plastic… well, Plastic isn’t quite sure what she is. They all belong to the Little Girl who lives on the high bed with the fluffy pillows. A very nice person to belong to.
“Pippi Longstocking” by Astrid Lindgren
Annalina’s diary entries reflect her feelings and experiences as she goes from being afraid to go to kindergarten to loving it during her first month of school.
“Gooney Bird Greene” by Lois Lowry
A most unusual new student who loves to be the center of attention entertains her teacher and fellow second graders by telling absolutely true stories about herself, including how she got her name.
“Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle” by Betty MacDonald
From her upside-down house, the eccentric Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle issues to parents her marvelous cures for such common children’s diseases as Won’t-Put-Away-Toys-itis, Answerbackism, and Fighter-Quarrelitis.
“The World of Winnie-the-Pooh” by A.A. Milne
The world of Pooh is a world of enchantment. It is a world where Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends Piglet, Eeyore, Tigger, Kanga and the others share unforgettable adventures with Christopher Robin.
Royer’s Kids Club birthday card design contest runs now through July 17
We’re looking for budding artists to enter our annual birthday card design contest.
The winning design will adorn the Royer’s Kids Club birthday card, which will be emailed to all kids club members on their birthdays. (You can see last year’s winning card to the left.)
The artist will receive free flowers on his or her birthday.
The contest is open to children ages 5 to 12. The deadline to enter is July 17.
The entry form may be downloaded at www.royers.com/kidsclub and dropped off at the nearest Royer’s.
Royer’s Kids Club event June 20 to kick off annual ‘Stems Hunger’ food drive
Royer’s Flowers & Gifts’ annual food drive – Royer’s Stems Hunger – will take place June 20-27 to benefit the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and the Greater Berks Food Bank.
Royer’s Kids Club will help out with a special event on June 20 for children ages 5 to 12. They are asked to donate a non-perishable food item as the price of admission and to bring an empty food can to fill with flowers and take home.
Participants also will have an opportunity to enter the kids club’s birthday card design contest and to create a Father’s Day card.
Time slots are available at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. at each of Royer’s 16 stores in Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties.
Registration is required by calling your nearest Royer’s store.
Royer’s Stems Hunger benefits the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and the Greater Berks Food Bank.
Royer’s food drive back for fifth year, June 20-27
Royer’s Stems Hunger, our annual food drive, will return June 20-27 to benefit the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank and the Greater Berks Food Bank.
Customers who donate a non-perishable food item during the event will receive a free carnation, up to six flowers per family per visit.
The food drive will be the theme of our June 20 Royer’s Kids Club event; more details to come on that in the days ahead.
Our friends at Drayer Physical Therapy Institute will be helping us again this year, collecting food at the company’s outpatient physical therapy centers in Camp Hill, Carlisle, Colonial Park, Enola, Harrisburg and Mechanicsburg.
M is for Mother’s Day and a morning on abc27
Having completed three live segments and starting her fourth, abc27’s Karissa Shatzer knew a lot more about Mother’s Day flower options than when she began.
What she didn’t know was which one(s) she liked best.
“Well, after this, it might be even harder to choose because there’s so much here,” she told viewers.
Shatzer interviewed Barry Spengler, Royer’s vice president of operations, at our Camp Hill store on May 4, 2015.
Among the options Barry offered:
- Silk arrangements, which are good for people who suffer from allergies;
- Cut-flower arrangement, already made, for $15 to $30;
- Dendrobium orchids, which are popular for proms, too;
- Rose bunch, which Mom can design and arrange;
- Gerbera daisies.
“That’s a really popular flower,” Barry said. “We sell an awful lot of Gerbera daisies.”
You can see more suggestions by watching the entire segment: