What is a way to get donated plants and supplies to start gardens at my middle school?

I work for Jackson Public Schools in Jackson, MS and am planning to celebrate Earth Day on April 22 by planting flowers and need potting soil, flowers, etc. I cannot afford all of this on my own. Any suggestions?

FlowersBirthday FlowersSympathy FlowersI just picked up 18 black cherry seedlings from the university's plant biotech building for my son's upcoming birthday (he was born on Earth Day). I'm going to give them away at his party instead of party favor bags. She didn't charge me anything for them. You might try contacting the agriculture dept. of your local community colleges or university and see if they can accomodate you. Good luck and happy Earth Day. :)
Reply:Ask your local nursery for a donation.
Reply:Ask if the donations can be for a cause like awareness of a greener planet.
Reply:You're off to a very late start on this! Have a fund raiser
Reply:I would contact ANY local nursery and ask if they have anything that could be donated. They often have greenhouses filled with 'last years' stock they don't know what to do with....you can offer to give them a certificate (make one) to hang in their shop with a THANK YOU from all the kids in the class (good customer relations for them!).
Reply:Call around to your local nurseries. If they donate the things to your school, they can get a tax deduction for it, plus it's free advertising for them.
Reply:Go to the judges, clerks and lawyers in family court, in Criminal Court. They deal with the youngsters who did not have gardens to play in and learn from. The judges will get out their checkbooks to help.
Reply:You might try going yourself or perhaps calling local stores such as Home Depot, Lowe's, KMart, WalMart, etc., and explaining your situation and ask for donations. I once volunteered at Habitat For Humanity and they used to go to stores including food stores for donations for events. I would imagine they would be happy to to the same for you. It's not like you're asking for yourself. Perhaps you could ask the local newspaper to cover the planting and ask them to mention the stores who have donated and tell the local stores that you are trying to get press coverage too. It might help you get donations. However try to just ask for the donations FIRST so that you DO NOT give the impression you can deliver press coverage if you cannot. Hope this helps.
Reply:Simple go talk with the principal about sending home a note with the students about what you are planning and see if parents will donate some things to help out.
Reply:I would go around to a few nurseries in the area and tell them about your project with the hope that they'd be willing to donate something. I would imagine they will donate something at each one, you can also offer to do some free advertising around your event in return for some plants. If they can't give for free, ask for a discount.make up