Sealy spearheads drive to help area's needy
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, October 20, 2005
Archdale, N.C. — Sealy CEO Dave McIlquham knows that this will be a tough year for many North Carolina residents.
"With the unstable economy, high jobless rate, and the needs of displaced families from the hurricane disasters, this will be a trying year for many," he said.
Add those problems to the fact that one out of every seven North Carolinians live at or below the federal poverty level, and you've got big needs to fill.
McIlquham and other leaders in the Piedmont Triad, which includes High Point, Greensboro, Winston-Salem and the surrounding area, are once again doing something to help meet those needs.
Sealy, based here, is again a co-sponsor of the Triad Holiday Challenge, a partnership of local organizations and companies to respond to needs of area communities. The 2005 effort, organized by Sealy, Old Dominion and Fox8, supports the Salvation Army's food pantry with donations of canned goods.
McIlquham and Sealy created the program in 2002. Last year it provided enough canned goods to meet the food pantry's needs for more than six months.
This year, McIlquham is hoping to encourage an even stronger response. He's already issuing an appeal to companies and organizations throughout the region to lend their support.
"The Triad Holiday Challenge is an opportunity for the home furnishings industry to unite in support of needy families in the Piedmont Triad," he said. "On behalf of Sealy, I would like to challenge local industry colleagues and their organizations to enthusiastically participate in the 2005 Triad Challenge."
The goal this year is to secure commitments from 20 to 40 large organizations, and to give them some competition to encourage their best efforts. Participating companies create internal food drives involving their leaders and employees. Old Dominion transports the donated food items to the Salvation Army at the end of the challenge on Dec. 16.
"This event wouldn't be a true challenge without a little friendly competition," McIlquham said. "To make it fair for everyone, we will divide participants into three divisions based on the number of employees, so organizations will be competing against similarly sized organizations."
The corporate sponsorships create visibility for the companies, which are recognized in various ways throughout the Triad Holiday Challenge and during a holiday concert series, which begins on Dec. 15 in Winston-Salem and continues the next evening in Greensboro. Guests are admitted to the concerts with the donation of canned goods.
The winning organizations in each of the three divisions will be highlighted in TV news interviews on Fox8 during the week of Dec. 19 and will be recognized during the holiday concerts.
Last year the challenge collected 96,000 canned good items. Combined with the donations from the holiday concerts, the overall effort helped to provide more than 320,000 cans of food for the Salvation Army's food pantry.
This year's challenge begins with a kickoff breakfast Nov. 14 at the Airport Marriott, hosted by Neill McNeill, Fox8 news anchor. At that breakfast, past participants will share some of their best practices.
Past sponsors have included High Point Regional Healthcare System, High Point Bank and Trust, Leggett & Platt, Mullen and the Forsyth County Schools.
The challenge runs from Nov. 28 until Dec. 15.
For more information, contact Stephanie Milo at Mullen at (336) 774-9368, or by e-mail at stephanie.milo@mullen.com.
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Sealy sponsors Triad Holiday Challenge
Nov 17, 2005 -
Sealy co-sponsors Triad Holiday Challenge
Dec 11, 2005
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