Soulflower - An ALLY Job Site For Youth

“It’s exciting to see what a difference the ALLY program can make in people’s lives. New Door is a great organization with so much to offer.”

Soulflower is a boutique floral design shop located in Potrero Hill and a partner job site for New Door Ventures’ ALLY program. Founded five years ago by Emily Dreblow, Soulflower aims to provide high-quality floral arrays for clients’ events, while also benefiting the community.

“Before starting Soulflower, I was a youth worker at Huckleberry Youth Programs with a background in social work and community development. When I decided to start Soulflower Floral Design, I was determined to create a business with ‘soul’ that embraced values of community, social responsibility, and sustainability.”

However, as a small business owner, Emily has limited resources to both run the studio and fulfill her mission of giving back to the community. Then, while doing floral arrangements at an event, she met a New Door staff member who introduced the idea of becoming an ALLY job site.

“Connecting with New Door a couple years ago has been an important part of bringing my vision of creating a socially responsible business to fruition and incorporating a community jobs component for youth,” Emily adds. “The ALLY program offers me a chance to connect with local youth and teach them new skills and responsibilities – and, I also gain valuable help in the day-to-day operations of my business. It is a win-win situation!”

At Soulflower, a New Door intern helps Emily with designing floral arrangements, decorating displays, organizing the studio, and other administrative tasks. Through the internship, youth learn to be accountable to a job, interact with clients and co-workers, and think creatively to tackle projects from start to finish.

Throughout the job internship, youth stay closely involved with their case managers at New Door who guide them through any challenges they encounter on the job. “The New Door youth development staff is incredibly responsive and communicative,” says Emily. “They respond to my phone call or email within the day and are really good at maintaining relationships with both interns and job site partners.”

“Overall, the ALLY program is an invaluable resource to youth and a great way to expose young people to various fields of work that they would not otherwise be exposed to. I have hosted four interns at Soulflower, and all have taken an interest in new things, like becoming a small business owner, attending art school, working in a community garden, or going on to other jobs in floral design and photography."