Sophomore Emily Kim owns Pledge Florals, a new floristry business that sells corsages and boutonnieres while also making a positive impact on our Crozet environment.  

Pledge Florals sells their products for school dances such as the snowball, which was on February 8, and prom.

Emily Kim created an initiative that would help the environment by contributing profit to the Rivanna Conservation Alliance. The idea of Pledge Florals came to Kim when she noticed a significant amount of litter in the Rivanna River while fishing. She asked herself, “what is the solution that we can make to fix this?” 

Pledge Florals sells three different sets of flowers: “Pink Allison,” “Red Faarquad,” and “Yellow Umma” which all contain various rose colors. Each set also contains baby’s breath and eucalyptus leaves. Custom orders are an option as well. 

“We strive to donate as much of our proceeds to charity as possible,” Emily Kim said. This is why prices range from $15 for boutonnieres to $24 for corsages.  Time takes a factor into the price as well.  “It takes us about 20 to 30 minutes to make each set,” said Emily Kim.

 “I never really wanted to be a florist, but I love doing business. I realized that while doing Pledge Florals. And Hanna is really good at accounting as well,” said Emily Kim. Hanna Kim is the manager of Pledge Florals. She runs the finance department of the business. Currently, cash and Paypal are only accepted within seven days of receipt.

  Last year, Pledge Florals chose Rivanna Conservation Alliance as their recipient and raised over $364. This year, the American Red Cross is the recipient due to their purpose of providing accessible emergency, education, and disaster relief in the U.S. 

The Kim sisters raised a total of $500 selling about 26 products for snowball. They plan to continue their business and support the environment.