5enses • 14
5enses March 2020 p 14
5ensesmag.com
Teacher Education, Their Own Way Local Fundraiser to Generate Scholarships
Entering Bowen’s Botanicals at 212 North Cortez in Prescott, you feel welcome but also curious about its purpose. It’s a florist, as branded, but most ofthe stock is tucked away in a refrigerated room. It has an ample selection ofherbal remedies, much geared to menstrual and menopausal concerns. Then there are the curio cabinets, filled with recently handmade objects alongside antiques curated with a somewhat steampunk sensibility. And taxidermy. “I want to do my best to bring more attention to this part oftown,” says Cara Foster, proprietor ofBowen’s Botanicals, which opened last October. She named the business after Mary Bowen, a Prescott pioneer who once operated “Mrs. Bowen’s Hospital” in a house that previously occupied the site. “I teach floral classes here, and plant-care classes, herbing classes. I have friends who are talented artists — metalsmiths, jewelry makers, painters — and I like to have their stuffaround me. I want everyone to have an opportunity to shine in their own right.” But the big space, stretching back all the way to the alley, is clearly intended for an even more interesting purpose: gathering people. “Besides being a flower shop, I try to do community events, professional networking mixers, live music. Art shows. Food trucks in back. Just to be a place where people can come and maybe learn or experience something new.”
True to that thinking, Bowen’s Botanicals will be hosting an unusual event on Thursday, March 26, 5-7pm, a fundraiser to help local teachers with their own continuing education while empowering them with their own choices. Foster understands the need. She explains, “I was a teacher, then an instructional coach, then I went back to the classroom again here in Prescott. I found that the things teachers want to learn aren’t necessarily available to them, primarily because ofmoney. Every teacher I know lives paycheck-to-paycheck. And it’s not all about the salary schedule: they invest so much into their classrooms, emotionally and monetarily.” As a teenager Foster apprenticed to a florist, then used those skills as a side gig during her teaching years. “School districts get to determine what they want teachers to learn, and normally it’s like a blanket platform for some kind ofschool-reform initiative. Sometimes it’s about helping kids emotionally, or because the science standards have changed. Things like that are great, but teachers all have different needs. The special-area teachers, like art or physical education, and the support staffmiss out the most. It was so demoralizing to be a professional educator, but not be able to hone my craft.” So Foster came up with a solution, and partnered with the United Way ofYavapai County. “What I want to do with this fundraiser is put money directly into the teachers’ hands,” she says, “so they can pick what they want to learn. There are amazing authors that come through Phoenix all the time, or curriculum initiatives. It’s limitless. For a teacher to pick their own professional development, they not only have to have the money for the professional development, which starts about $150 a day, but they have to pay for their own gas, their own food, maybe a hotel. We’re talking $500-800. Plus the time comes out ofyour sick days or personal days, and ifyou don’t have enough, it comes out ofyour paycheck.” The goal ofthe fundraiser is to award at least one scholarship per year in each ofthe three local school districts: Prescott Unified, Chino and Humboldt. Donors can choose which district their generosity will benefit. “For now we’re starting small-scale, just asking for donations,” says Foster. “There’s no admission, and food and beverages are donated. 100% ofproceeds go to the teachers.” Gifts are tax-deductible, because the program is administered through the United Way. Recipients will be announced at the Live United Education Fair, April 18 at Mile High Middle School. “For me it’s really important to be a part ofthe community and figure out different ways to service the community,” Foster explains. “Service to others is really important to me. That’s why I was a teacher for so long. I love Prescott and I want to give back as much as Prescott has given me.” For more information, go to Yavapaiuw.org or bowensbotanicals.com.