2018 IFF Greater Good Award winner: Service Thread

Published On: October 17, 2018

Helping students prepare and plan for their futures is one of many areas of focus for Service Thread’s community service efforts. Here, the company hosts a manufacturing plant tour for 30 Carver Middle School student participants of the STEM program. Photo: Service Thread.

Service Thread, based in Laurinburg, N.C., was awarded the 2018 Industrial Fabrics Foundation (IFF) Greater Good Award at IFAI Expo 2018 in Dallas, Texas. The Greater Good Award focuses on an ATA member company that does good business—and strives to be a good neighbor, good citizen, and good partner. Nomination criteria were based on the company’s impact, influence, sustainability, investment and development efforts.

Service Thread’s culture of community service is intertwined with its business model. Employees donate their time to fundraise for the American Red Cross as well as the United Way, and participate in Habitat for Humanity. Working with local schools, supporting local 8th grade STEM programs, Service Thread created career tours to help educate and inspire students, creating a career pathway into our industry.

Every nine weeks, Service Thread takes the time to present awards to students at I. Ellis Johnson Elementary School who have shown continuous improvement in behavior. To help students thrive while at school, employees pack snacks for hungry children for all thirteen schools in their area to help students focus on school. Embracing green practices, the company’s Green Team created a litter sweep, collecting more than 100 pounds of litter—and installed solar panels to create a more sustainable business operation.

The Service Thread website summarizes their mission: “Community Matters.”

Honorable mention

The other nominees for the Greater Good Award in 2018:

Ascend Performance Materials, Houston, Texas, responded in force when Hurricane Harvey arrived, sending 180 volunteers, repairing 55 homes, and serving 1,000 meals to Ascend employees with additional volunteers for the overwhelming clean-up. The company offered direct assistance to employees facing special hardships, and established the Ascend Cares Foundation, matching funds raised by employees dollar-for-dollar to provide assistance with disasters, scholarships and much more. Volunteers from Ascend have assisted with food banks, animal shelters, and United Way, among other causes. The company strives for zero personal injuries, zero safety incidents and zero environmental releases.

O’Sullivan Films/Continental, Winchester, Va., has used both its products and employee resources to protect local waters, hosting an employee creek clean-up day and rushing to the rescue with a spill response team that used absorbent booms to protect waters from a local spill. O’Sullivan hosts blood drives for Virginia Blood Services and donates equipment to local schools, including lab ovens and computers, actively contributing to the community.

For more details on these companies and other “Greater Good” articles in Specialty Fabrics Review, visit www.specialtyfabricsreview.com and click on “The Greater Good” on the menu bar.