One Million Degrees

Flowers for Dreams has a long history of funding increased access to education. In fact, our company got its start at a graduation ceremony, selling bouquets to parents in order to provide backpacks for students in need.  Since then, we’ve gone from funding school supplies with Supplies for Dreams to supporting mentorship for middle school students at SPARK Chicago, holistic education for underserved children at Namaste Charter School to after school programming for young refugees at GirlForward.

This October, we’re honored to continue our support for education by supporting community college students at One Million Degrees. OMD is the only organization in Illinois and one of few in the country dedicated to providing comprehensive support to low-income, highly motivated community college students to help them succeed in school, in work, and in life.

From tutors and coaches, to financial assistance and professional development, OMD has offered critical support services to thousands of Chicago students in their 11 years. The 2017-18 class of OMD Scholars is over 800 – their biggest ever – and expects to again graduate twice the state average (nearly 70%) with the skills and experiences necessary to launch economically mobile careers.

Associates degrees are an important ticket to mobility. The City of Chicago, with OMD’s partnership, is leading an effort to make them more accessible than in any other major city in the country: helping launch degree programs for special needs students, providing tuition-free education for high achieving CPS students, and much more. We’re grateful to be able to support One Million Degrees with every October bouquet. We believe everyone deserves access to higher education and greater career opportunities, and with your help, OMD can continue working hard to make this a reality for more and more local students.