Sealy-led holiday food drive sets record
By David Perry -- Furniture Today, January 22, 2007
Archdale, N.C. — The Salvation Army's local food pantries are stocked with enough canned goods to feed the needy well into this fall, thanks to a successful holiday campaign backed by Sealy and other companies.
The fifth annual Triad Holiday Challenge, led by Sealy, TV station Fox8 and Old Dominion Freight Line, saw 31 companies with more than 15,000 employees donate more than 289,000 items for the Salvation Army. The participation and the amount of food raised were both records, with more than twice as many items donated as in 2005.
Combined with Sealy/Fox8 holiday concerts in Greensboro and Winston-Salem, N.C., in which a food donation was requested as the price of admission, the challenge brought in a record-breaking 504,589 items.
Sealy Chairman and CEO Dave McIlquham was impressed with the increase in giving in the latest campaign.
"We name winners at the end of the challenge," he said, "but the real winners are the people of the Triad, both those who donated generously and those who will be helped by the Salvation Army food pantries in the coming months. Each year I am astounded by the generosity of the companies and employees who work in the Triad."
Sealy employees alone donated 150,000 items.
Salvation Army officials said the Triad Holiday Challenge and the holiday concerts are key ways their organization helps meet the needs of families for warm meals, baby items and personal care products.
Old Dominion manages the logistics of dropping off boxes and picking up all donations. Old Dominion employees contributed more than 70,000 items through the challenge.
The challenge began five years ago when McIlquham wanted to find a way to supplement the canned food drive that takes place at the holiday concerts. He extended the challenge to other local companies, and the friendly competition has brought in ever-increasing donations for the Salvation Army.
