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Where am I? Sustainability > Community & Social Responsibility > Philanthropy & Community Partnerships

Philanthropy & Community Partnerships

  • Sustainability at Interface extends to teaching others about sustainable practices and helping to build sustainable communities. Through partnership with communities near our businesses, legacy projects at our sales meetings, ongoing volunteering, and other financial contributions, Interface and its associates hope to go beyond financial contributions to creating a lasting difference in the communities where we live and work.
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  • Community Partnerships


    DASH

    InterfaceFLOR partners with a local nonprofit corporation in LaGrange, GA, called DASH (Dependable Affordable Sustainable Housing) to address economic disparities in the community. Interface offers a 2-to-1 match on associate contributions to DASH for up to $100,000 of down payment assistance ($6,000 maximum per home) on DASH homes in the nearby Hillside community. Interface is also donating carpet for the homes and a new initiative is being put into place to provide volunteer opportunities for Interface associates to assist with tutoring programs in an after-school program for DASH residents. In 2007, InterfaceFLOR participated in a “Paint the Town” event with DASH in which associates volunteered to paint a house for an elderly woman in the community.

    Asset Network for Education Worldwide (ANEW) Foundation

    Interface company Bentley Prince Street has developed a unique partnership with ANEW Foundation that unites environmental sustainability with social responsibility — keeping carpet out of our overflowing landfills while helping community learning programs who can benefit from repurposed carpet. Through this partnership, Bentley Prince Street works with ANEW to identify and assess surplus carpet — carpet that for one reason or another companies want to replace. The team will then determine whether the life of the carpet can be extended by repurposing it in other settings, such as non-profits, community centers, learning programs and public agencies. (If the carept cannot be reused, Bentley Prince Street will ensure the carpet is recycled through its ReEntry® program.)

    Delhaven Community Center

    Interface company Bentley Prince Street has developed an ongoing relationship with Delhaven Community Center, a non-profit social service organization offering programs to developmentally disabled children and adults in La Puente, California. Bentley Prince Street provides in-kind and financial support to the Center, and its associates volunteer time to support and educate Delhaven’s clients. The company was a sponsor for the Delhaven Community Center’s Spring Fling Event in May 2008, and 14 fourteen associates volunteered for the event. Associates also installed donated company carpet in the gymnasium and work alongside clients in a program that helps disabled adults learn about sustainable practices and pays them to help recycle materials.

    CARPETree™

    InterfaceFLOR Brazil has contracted with Florestas do Futuro (Forests of the Future) to create CARPETree, a reforestation program funded by Interface to help restore five key river basins in The Atlantic Forest. InterfaceFLOR Brazil will fund the planting of one tree in the Atlantic Forest for every 25 square meters of commercial carpet products sold – more than 50,000 trees have been planted since the program began. InterfaceFLOR Brazil has invested in this program on behalf of its customers in hopes that it will encourage other like-minded companies to follow suit.

    MUST Ministries

    Interface has an ongoing partnership with MUST Ministries (Ministries United for Service and Training) to address the needs of individuals, families, and children in the Marietta, Smyrna and Canton/Cherokee county communities of Georgia. Interface associates have assembled sack lunches for children in the Cobb and Cherokee county suburbs of Northwest Atlanta and supported the annual school supply drive with carloads of donated materials.

    Ho`okupu Trust

    In May 1997, Interface held its first ever Worldwide Sales Meeting on Maui. Deeply touched by the beauty of Maui and the strong sense of native culture, yet shockingly aware of the impacts that the tourism business had on the island and its native people, Interface's stakeholders sprung into action to create a lasting legacy for “tomorrow's children” on Maui – the Ho`okupu Trust. The mission of the program was developed from several small group meetings between Interface associates and Maui natives. The trust was created from funds designated by Interface, and an overwhelming response from the meeting attendees who made voluntary pledges.

  • Legacy Projects

    InterfaceFLOR and Bentley Prince Street have taken advantage of the large groups gathered for annual sales meetings and established a tradition called legacy projects. Each year during the meetings, InterfaceFLOR and Bentley Prince Street associates are invited to participate in volunteer activities that support local parks, schools and other organizations in need. These activities have contributed significantly to the local communities in which the meetings are held and support the culture of social responsibility at Interface.

    PATH Project

    The City of LaGrange donated nine acres of land adjacent to InterfaceFLOR to be kept as a wooded wonderland and used for future outdoor learning area. Volunteers cleared the overgrown area of weeds and invasive shrubs, cleared a path through the forest, installed benches and removed non-native plants.

    Boys and Girls Club of West Georgia

    Volunteers assisted in renovating a local building for the new performing arts center for The Boys and Girls Club of West Georgia, a United Way agency. Volunteers re-carpeted the entire downstairs area of the building.

    LaGrange Humane Society

    The LaGrange-Troup County Humane Society is located just down the street from InterfaceFLOR’s Kyle I manufacturing facility. InterfaceFLOR volunteers helped walk dogs and taught other volunteers how to spread the word about the Humane Society in their own communities.

    Santa Fe Dam Clean-Up

    Bentley Prince Street volunteers helped clean a one mile section of the shore surrounding a 70 acre lake in the Santa Fe Dam area. Trash and recyclables were picked up as part of Public Land Day, a national initiative focused on cleaning up public areas.

    Whitesville Road Elementary

    Following up on a 2006 legacy project at Whitesville Road Elementary School, volunteers spruced up the school courtyard and spent time mentoring students. One group of volunteers removed weeds, added new mulch and cleaned the courtyard while a second group spent time in the school, reading to the children, helping them improve their reading skills, teaching them about careers, and assisting in the library.

    Twin Cedars Youth Services

    Twin Cedars Youth Services (GA) provides residential care to more than 165 babies, children and teens 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. InterfaceFLOR volunteers painted the homes that provide treatment for boys that have experienced sexual trauma and suffer from mental and behavioral health issues.

  • Volunteerism


    Heal the Bay

    Since 2004, Interface’s Bentley Prince Street volunteers have contributed to national Coastal Cleanup Day by cleaning the Long Beach (CA) Pier as part of the Heal the Bay event. Heal the Bay is a nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to making Santa Monica Bay and Southern California coastal waters safe and healthy for people and marine life.

    Habitat for Humanity – Jimmy Carter Work Project

    Interface company Bentley Prince Street teamed with Habitat for Humanity in the 24th annual Jimmy Carter Work Project (JCWP) in Los Angeles. During the weeklong project, thousands of volunteers from around the world joined former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, in building 30 new homes and repairing 70 homes. A platinum sponsor of the JCWP 2007, Bentley Prince Street donated carpet for all 30 new homes built during the week. More than 55 Bentley Prince Street employees also rolled up their sleeves to volunteer in the effort.

    Chattahoochee River Clean-up

    Interface associates, family members and friends gathered in 2005 and 2006 for a Chattahoochee River Clean-up project sponsored by the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper (UCR) and the National Park Service. Interface associates joined other local volunteers to clean up litter and storm debris at East Palisades Park in Atlanta, a residential river park on the banks of Whitewater Creek, where it feeds into the Chattahoochee River in Northeast Atlanta.

    San Gabriel Valley, CA Canyon Clean-Up

    Interface company Bentley Prince Street participated in the 30th annual Super Canyon Sweep in San Gabriel Valley (CA) in June 2005. Thirty-one Bentley Prince Street volunteers helped in cleaning 15 miles of stream bed in the Follows Camp area of the canyon that supports the San Gabriel Valley. Bentley Prince Street also donated an area rug to the event raffle, proceeds of which went to support non-profit project coordinator PLP, Inc.

    Elementary School Mentoring

    IntefaceFLOR is a Partner in Education with Whitesville Road Elementary School in LaGrange, GA and West Point Elementary School in West Point, GA where associates volunteer to mentor students toward academic success.

  • Contributions


    Salvation Army Angel Tree Program

    Over the years, InterfaceFLOR has supported families in need during the holiday season by participating in the Salvation Army Angel Tree program.

    Iowa Flood Relief Efforts

    Interface company Bentley Prince Street helped homeowners and businesses in Iowa get back on their feet following the record 2008 floods by donating more than 26,000 yards of carpet to flood victims in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Coralville, and Des Moines. The company is working with Habitat for Humanity affiliates in Iowa to store and distribute the carpet to eligible flood victims.

    Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

    Interface associates responded to the massive devastation of Hurricane Katrina by raising a total contribution of $101,896. Many Interface associates also engaged in local initiatives to help provide basic supplies and services for refugees.

    Tsunami Relief Efforts

    Interface associates around the world joined hands in the worldwide relief effort to assist the victims of the earthquake/tsunami disaster in and around Southeast Asia. The corporation and associates made a $78,000 pledge to four key organizations offering assistance to the disaster victims. In addition to the monetary contributions, InterfaceFLOR Thailand has developed a program for donating second quality carpet tiles to charitable organizations in support of requests for carpet to be used in the rebuilding program following the disaster.

    World Vision Foundation

    InterfaceFLOR Thailand has partnered with the World Vision Foundation to provide sustainability education and economic opportunities for less fortunate individuals. InterfaceFLOR has established a program where waste yarn is donated to craftsman in Surin province (Thailand) for making hammocks, providing a much needed source of income. Associates have also trained more than 300 villagers about global warming, reduce-reuse-recycle, and other ways to contribute to global warming solutions.

    School for the Blind

    InterfaceFLOR Thailand donates twice-used paper (paper already printed on both sides) to the School for the Blind where it is used a third time in student Braille practice.

    Bahamas Book Drive

    After volunteering at Bartlett Hill Primary School in the Bahamas as part of the Legacy Projects during the annual sales meeting, InterfaceFLOR associates recognized a need for additional resources at the school. Upon returning from the meeting, InterfaceFLOR held a successful book drive to fill the gap in reading materials at Bartlett Hill.

    March of Dimes

    InterfaceFLOR is a proud sponsor of the March of Dimes, Georgia Chapter. Approximately 40 associates volunteered to raise funds and ‘took steps’ in the March for Babies walk to ensure a healthy future for all babies. InterfaceFLOR associates raised just over $11,000 for the organization and received a Sponsorship Award in recognition of their significant support.

    United Way

    InterfaceFLOR supports the United Way to provide critical services in the community. For the 2007 campaign, InterfaceFLOR received the Peoples Award and the Over the Top recognition for its contributions.