Southworth gives back to the community

Another year has rolled around and Southworth Products has been busy again this year working on fund raisers to help with the Backpack Back to School Program. This program has grown each year, and this year was no exception. Two years ago the Community Involvement Team heard about the need for back packs and supplies for children as they started off the school year.

The Community Involvement Team decided this could possibly be an area they could assist with and presented the Manila Schools with a check for $1,500 to be used to purchase back packs and supplies. The following year, the team decided it would have more meaning to do more than just present a check and decided to purchase and fill 100 back packs with the needed supplies to start off the school year.

This year the Community Involvement Team felt there were more children in need outside of Manila and, since many of their employees live in the Leachville area, decided to expand the program to include the BIC schools as well. One hundred back packs were purchased and filled with supplies and delivered to the Manila Schools on Saturday, Aug. 18, just in time for the start of the school year and then on Monday, Aug. 20, several of the teachers and staff from the BIC schools made the trip to the Southworth Plant in Manila and picked up two van loads of back packs for children in the BIC schools.

"The Community Involvement Team would like to thank every employee of Southworth Products who participated in the fundraisers and who donated supplies for the program this year, we would also like to thank Dollar General of Manila for their generosity in putting out boxes to collect supplies for the program this year and a big thank you to every member of the community who purchased and donated supplies for the program," Shelly Barley, HR Manager, said. "We certainly could not have done it without you."