Culp Home Fashions, the mattress fabric manufacturing division of Culp, Inc. conducted its first “Spread the Warmth” initiative in January by sewing mattress fabric remnants into blankets and donating those blankets to local charities that work with homeless populations. In addition to the blankets made by CULP, employees were given the opportunity to purchase blankets from an Amazon wish list and have them shipped directly to one of the charities.
CULP’s mattress fabric manufacturing facility in Stokesdale, NC, donated blankets to the High Point-based charity, Cover the City. This facility also shipped blankets to CULP’s window treatment production facility in Knoxville, TN, which were then donated to the Tennessee Valley Coalition for the Homeless.
“All of our U.S. mattress fabrics facilities are certified as ‘Zero Waste to Landfill’ facilities,” explained Iv Culp, President and Chief Executive Officer of Culp, Inc. “Ninety-five percent or more of the waste materials created in the manufacturing process are recycled, including remnant fabric. But with this Spread the Warmth initiative, we are able to use the remnant material to make blankets that provide warmth to people in need in our local communities, serving a higher purpose than simply recycling it.”
Commenting on the program, Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Teresa Huffman, stated, “As a company, we always strive to support the communities in which we operate. We’re excited to have found a new way to do so. It’s an honor to work with the caring people at Cover the City and the Tennessee Valley Coalition for the Homeless who devote their time and energy to charitable initiatives. They make the world a bit brighter, and in this case, a bit warmer.”
Cover the City started in the winter of 2013 when founder and Executive Director, Amanda Anderson, noticed a homeless man sleeping on a bench behind a local business in High Point, North Carolina. So moved by the man’s plight, Anderson spoke with a friend at Open Door Ministries and asked how she could help those in need. Blankets were an immediate need at the time and continue to be a necessity during the winter months. Thus Cover the City was formed to help support the homeless population in shelters and those who do not utilize the shelters during the coldest times of the year. Since then, Cover the City has expanded to include six chapters in North Carolina, one in Ohio, and another in New York.
“We have quite a few companies who partner with us by collecting donations of blankets, and I had always wanted to ask CULP to be a partner, but I never thought about them actually making blankets for us,” commented Anderson. “Working with CULP has been amazing. When a member of their HR team contacted me, explaining that they had made hundreds of blankets to donate, I was so surprised and excited. We are very grateful to CULP for sharing their resources with people in need, and we’re thankful for their talented employees who sew and create these blankets.”
In January, CULP donated over 250 blankets to both charities. The company hopes to donate more later this year as they plan on participating in Cover the City’s November blanket drive. For more information on either charity, visit: www.coverthecityproject.org or www.tvchomeless.org.
