DETROIT LAKES — Technology has caught up with those beautiful oversized flower pots in Detroit Lakes — they now come with scannable QR codes that make it easy to donate to the Downtown Alive beautification effort. “It’s easy-peasy,” said organizer Patty LaBarre. “I want people to scan, scan, scan.
All those little donations come together and really help.” The QR codes are located on heart-shaped signs inserted among the flowers. The donations are needed because the Downtown Alive project has always been privately funded.
The city is not responsible for the flowerpots, although it does help out in different ways, LaBarre said. In the past few years, the group has generally raised from $36,000 to $41,000, but the fluctuations can leave LaBarre quite nervous. ADVERTISEMENT “I’m on pins and needles sometimes,” she added.
“Oh my God, will we have enough money?” There were 151 donors that together paid for this year’s beautification effort. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” LaBarre said. “People are so very giving here, they just are.
They aren’t thanked enough, either.” The downtown beautification project originally seeded by LaBarre and others has bloomed magnificently over the years — there are now 95 of those oversized flowerpots around town. Organizers are hoping to expand the number of big flowerpots to 100, and lots of $10 or $20 donations through the QR codes — available thanks to the work of Kyle Meacham of Detroit Lakes — would m.