ZEELAND, Mich. (WOOD) — You’ll never hear Maggie Hartman say she is bored.
It’s because the Zeeland West High School senior is busy being captain of her lacrosse team, maintaining a 4.1 GPA, and dual enrollment at Hope College.
On top of that, she runs a flower business, but it’s not your run-of-the-mill greenhouse. Hartman uses the profits from Maggie’s Flowers to buy Christmas gifts for families and children in need.
To date, she has given out 10,000 gifts.
It started as a simple fundraiser — when she was five, she wanted to go hang gliding on a family vacation. So, she sold flowers to pay for that adventure.
But she got hooked, and the business grew from there.
“We kind of brainstormed what we could use the proceeds for, and at (the age) six, the idea some kids couldn’t have Christmas presents was a next-level big deal to me,” said Hartman.
“I’m not a big lemonade girl, so I’m not going to make a lemonade stand. I could have a garage sale, but once you are out of stuff, that’s kind of it. Flowers are just a little bit of a beauty.”
After high school, she will continue to attend Hope College, majoring in education. She wants to be a teacher.
She plans on graduating in three years. She also received the Shawn Jacobs Scholarship, which is given to a student entering the world of education.
If you are interested in supporting her flower business, you can visit Maggie’s Flowers’ website.
