Salem, N.J. -- Everyone knows that kids love snacks, and usually all they need to do is take a quick walk into the kitchen to get one. But for kids in families with tight budgets, the occasional treat is often not within reach. That’s why associates at Mannington’s High Point site recently organized a snack collection drive to benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Greater High Point, North Carolina.

“Our snack collection drive was designed to supplement the summer program at the Ward Street Boys and Girls Club which is around the corner from our wood flooring plant,” said Sharon McGregor, Mannington mills domestic and imports returns coordinator/safety training coordinator, High Point. “Although the Club’s after-school program provides snacks and dinner through a grant during the school year, snacks are not included in the summer program. Our contribution gives them a snack, in addition to the lunch that’s provided each day during the summer. And that’s when the need is greatest because the number of kids enrolled increases to about 100 per day.”

Mannington’s High Point team became aware of the Club’s need when McGregor, whose grandson participates in the Club, struck up a conversation with a Club mentor. “She informed me that not all, but some of the children are from low-income families in the neighborhood. Some are also in the foster care system,” adds McGregor. “The food they receive at the Boys & Girls Club may be the only source of nourishment they get that day.”

Over the course of several days, Mannington associates donated enough individually wrapped snacks to cover not only the Club’s summer program but part of the school year program, too.

At the collection drive’s conclusion, Club representatives gathered at Mannington’s High Point site for the snack stash hand-off. The kids were treated to a plant tour and safety lesson, and received Mannington backpacks.

“As a company, we have a social responsibility to be a positive influence in our community,” said McGregor, who organized the snack collection drive. “When children are in need, we must not turn a blind eye. We need to be good stewards of our gifts, whether financial or in-kind, so that we teach the next generation -by example- to be a generation of doers and givers, too.”

For more information, visit www.bgca.org or www.mannington.com.