“When we got the call that a friend of ours passed away in May of 2020, we wanted to honor him in a special way,” stated Elizabeth Schenk. “I thought of the memorial trees that our family has planted. At every house we’ve lived in, my mom has planted a tree in memory of her father, my grandfather. So, I wanted that for our friend.” Elizabeth mentioned the idea to her friend group and, within 30 minutes, had collected $350 from people who wanted to give something longer-lasting than flowers.
“I spent an extensive amount of time searching for the 1-800-Flowers for trees to order the memorial tree. I figured something like this existed, but it didn’t. So, I looked at my husband, Brian, who is very handy and closely connected to a group of advisors in the landscape industry, and I said, “Why don’t we do this?”
Treebute is an e-commerce crowdfunding campaign platform that makes giving a long-lasting memorial tree as a shared gift easy and convenient. Trees can be ordered from the website, or create a campaign link that can be shared with others to raise money for a hardy size tree. “These are not baby saplings. We offer 10-foot to 14-foot trees, and the price includes its delivery and installation anywhere in St. Louis.” Treebute has planted over 40 trees since 2020.
Treebute has been accepted to Velocity STL, a new start-up accelerator program that will help this young company work on its ability to scale nationally. “We are working with mentors who will provide access to a network of resources and funding,” said Elizabeth.
“I love creating this company with my husband,” Elizabeth said. “We’ve shared the experience of how meaningful the trees are to the recipients and the gift-givers to memorialize a loved one, celebrate a birth or remember a pet. There is a spiritual element to this. We can feel the warmth of everyone around us. It fills our cup.” For more information, visit Treebute.com.