P.E.O. geranium sale raises scholarships for local women

More than 2,000 geraniums passed through Yates Funeral Home in Hayden as P.E.O. Chapter CL turned a spring flower sale into scholarship money for women in Kootenai County and beyond.

Volunteers gathered to sort, count and deliver red, white, pink and orange plants for the annual Judy Riba Nelson Geranium Sale, a local fundraiser that has been running for at least 11 years. The chapter said the sale usually brings in up to $7,000, a modest amount by institutional standards but a meaningful one when it is aimed directly at helping women pay for school.

That money supports the chapter’s educational mission through P.E.O., the Philanthropic Educational Organization, which backs women pursuing higher education. In Chapter CL, the scholarship dollars can reach recent high school graduates, single mothers returning to school and grandmothers trying to widen their opportunities through education.

The sale also shows how much of the work is done by hand. Chapter members, along with a few husbands and brothers-in-law, assembled, counted and delivered the plants, creating the kind of neighborhood fundraiser that depends on volunteer labor as much as customer purchases. Each geranium carries a small but concrete return: a sale that helps build a scholarship fund, one pot at a time.

Elayne Semko, the chapter president, said the flowers were beautiful and the response from customers was consistently positive. The appeal is practical as well as seasonal. Spring planting is already on the minds of many North Idaho residents, and the sale gives buyers a chance to bring home a bright container plant while helping a local woman afford tuition, books or other school costs.

The chapter’s work connects to a larger P.E.O. network. P.E.O. International says its mission includes grants, scholarships, awards and loans for women’s higher education, along with support for Cottey College, a women’s college. Its educational programs include the Educational Loan Fund, the International Peace Scholarship, Program for Continuing Education, Scholar Awards and STAR Scholarships.

P.E.O. says it has provided about $462 million in financial assistance to more than 129,000 women since 1869. The Educational Loan Fund, established in 1907, offers loans for qualified women, with local P.E.O. chapters recommending applicants. Loan amounts can reach $12,000 for an accredited non-degree program or associate degree, $15,000 for a bachelor’s degree, $20,000 for a master’s degree and $25,000 for a doctoral degree.

For Chapter CL, the geranium sale remains a small-scale version of that larger mission, converting a familiar spring purchase into education dollars that stay connected to local women and local volunteers.