Category Archives: Community Engagement

Hanes Team Supports Local Habitat for Humanity

Team members from Hanes Industries in Conover, North Carolina, spent their Earth Day giving back to the local community by volunteering for Catawba Valley Habitat for Humanity.

The mission of Habitat Catawba Valley is to help homebuyers build a safe and affordable place to call home. The need for Habitat for Humanity in local communities is greater than ever. The current real estate market makes homeownership difficult for many, especially those whose income falls below the area’s median.

Team Members from Hanes Industries – Conover, Catawba Habitat for Humanity, and the future homeowners.

“Our goal is to put hardworking families into a home, breaking the cycle of renting and unlocking a new type of generational wealth through homeownership,” says Phillip Stepp, Digital Marketing Manager for Catawba Valley Habitat for Humanity. “We achieve this with help from the local community through monetary donations, donations of items to ReStore (a retail store that sells gently used furniture and home accessories), and the hard work from our volunteers and homebuyers.”

The Hanes volunteers visited a neighborhood that is getting a much-needed makeover and assisted in the construction of two different home projects. The team even had the opportunity to work alongside the future homeowners and share their personal stories.

“I volunteered because I understand how it feels to need a helping hand,” says Brandon Phothichack, a team member from Hanes. “I’ve struggled, and I’ve known people who have struggled, and I’ve worked with people who were in the program at Habitat and have succeeded in achieving their dreams of owning.”

Thank you to our Hanes team for giving back to their community and living out our values of putting people first and doing great work together!

Investing in Our L&P Communities: Trinity River Waterwheels Initiative

Leggett & Platt believes in supporting the communities where we live and work. With that goal at heart, L&P is sponsoring the Trinity River Waterwheels Initiative in Fort Worth, Texas.

This initiative seeks to install large, solar-powered litter capture devices, or “waterwheels,” in the Trinity River. Waterwheels are a proven, sustainable, lower-cost technology to clean waterways. A waterwheel can remove up to 50,000 pounds of litter per day – about the size of two and a half garbage trucks. Removing the waste protects the water quality, improves the aesthetic and usability of the river, and improves the aquatic ecosystem for fish and wildlife.

“The Trinity River provides 710 miles of habitat, drinking water, tourism, and recreation,” said Juli Ragland, Environmental Program Manager for the City of Fort Worth. “The impact of this project will reach beyond Fort Worth and the metroplex and provide a cleaner river to the Gulf of Mexico.”

Mr. Trash Wheel, the first waterwheel created in Baltimore, Maryland.

The Trinity River Waterwheels initiative aligns with our L&P commitment to being good stewards of the environment and our company’s value of doing great work together.

“We are excited to be part of the solution to reduce litter in the City of Fort Worth through our support of the Trinity River Waterwheels Initiative,” said Tamara Cook, L&P’s Sustainability Director. “The Waterwheels will benefit the Fort Worth community and communities beyond by collecting trash and litter from the Trinity River.”

The Waterwheels Initiative also aligns with our commitment to being good partners in the communities where we operate. Leggett has produced carpet padding in the Fort Worth area for over 50 years and works hard to create sustainable solutions with our products. In our Flooring business, we manufacture carpet cushion products that are certified by the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) Green Label Plus and help customers achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building certification. Each year, we incorporate several hundred million pounds of recycled urethane foam in our production of bonded carpet cushion.

“Supporting the Waterwheels initiative and recycling foam to make new carpet cushion products are excellent examples of how L&P is supporting positive environmental impacts in the Fort Worth community,” concludes Tamara.

To learn more about the Trinity River Waterwheels Initiative and follow along as they plan construction for the first Waterwheel in Fort Worth, visit their website. And to learn more about our Environmental, Social, and Governance efforts, visit www.leggett.com/sustainability.

Happy Earth Day!

April 22 is Earth Day — a day for us to invest in our future by investing in our planet.

While we come from many cultures, Earth Day reminds us of our shared responsibility and commitment to care for our mutual home. Together, we can draw inspiration from one another to care for the environment and take action to promote a sustainable future for everyone, everywhere.

World Health Day: Health for All

April 7 is World Health Day and also the 75th anniversary of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) founding. Each year, the WHO selects a theme for World Health Day, and this year’s theme is Health for All—a message that promotes health equity and taking action to ensure that everyone can have good health.

Understanding the challenges communities face is a step towards being able to enact change. To broaden your knowledge of health-related issues and topics, check out these fact sheets from the WHO.

All Work and No Play? Not Today!

April 6 is International Fun at Work Day—a day to remind ourselves that work doesn’t have to be a fun-free zone.

Studies show that having fun at work enhances communication, collaboration, and productivity. We spend a lot of time with our coworkers, so let’s make it fun! Here are some ideas for you to try with your teams:

  • 👀 Two Truths, One Lie — Ask them to prepare two facts and one lie about themselves. Each person takes a turn to say their two truths and one lie without revealing what’s true and what’s not. Ask your coworkers to guess what’s true and what’s false.
  • 🔁 Would You Rather — Ask them a would-you-rather question. Here are two questions to get you started: 1. Would you rather sing every part of your work presentations or perform an interpretative dance of your presentations? 2. During work meetings, would you rather stand on one foot or sit on a child-sized chair?
  • 🍵 Tea Time — Schedule some time to share a drink or snack with your coworkers and catch up on life.
  • 💻 Group GIFs — This idea is great for virtual teams. Give your coworkers a scenario and ask them to respond with a GIF. Ask everyone to choose their favorites.

L&P Table Design Wins Top Award

Roxanne Willard, Demand/Office Manager at Carthage Spring (Branch One), recently used her talents to design a centerpiece for the Leggett & Platt table at the Carthage Chamber of Commerce’s annual banquet. Her creative design won the banquet’s top award!

Her table design incorporated elements that were representative of and inspired by Branch One. For example, the denim-like material used for the cat’s vest, place mats, pillow, wall covering, and box spring were all used from scrap materials. The brick wall resembles the wall from the original Branch One building built in 1883.

“My goal was for our community to understand what we do at Branch One,” she said. “I was very proud that I represented Leggett & Platt to the best of my ability, and it paid off!”

Congratulations, Roxanne!

Do Not Disturb: It’s World Sleep Day!

March 17 is World Sleep Day—a day to recognize the importance of sleep and promote good sleep health. As a go-to source for all things bedding, we enhance people’s lives with superior sleep experiences.

This year’s theme is Sleep is Essential for Health. Like exercising and eating well, getting good quality sleep is a part of maintaining good health. If you’re interested in more information on healthy sleep, check out this page: Answers to Basic Sleep Questions

As we head into the weekend, we hope that you sleep well!

Kindness Is Contagious—Pass It On!

February 17 is Random Acts of Kindness Day—an opportunity to make someone’s day a little brighter by being kind.

At L&P, we put people first by being kind to one another. Kindness allows us to connect above our differences and create a place of mutual respect, empathy, and belonging.

No matter how small it seems, something as simple as smiling at someone or sending an uplifting message can cause a ripple effect because kindness is contagious. When we are kind to someone, the person on the receiving end is more likely to act kindly towards others. Even witnessing an act of kindness can make us kinder.

Looking for ideas and inspiration on how to make someone’s day a little brighter? Check out the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation.

L&P Bedding Featured on the Dos Marcos Podcast

Our Bedding Segment was recently featured on the Dos Marcos podcast – a podcast dedicated to the furniture, appliances, and mattress business.

Listen in as two of our Bedding leaders discuss our new product development approach and new product launches for Quantum Edge Enhanced Profile with Eco-Base and Caliber Edge Enhanced Profile with Eco-Base.

Listen here: Eco-Base™ – L&P Bedding Group (beddingcomponents.com)

L&P Hosts Students from the University of Missouri’s Cornell Leadership Program

We were excited to welcome students from the University of Missouri’s (MU) Cornell Leadership Program to our corporate headquarters in Carthage, Missouri, to learn about our company and from our leaders.

The Cornell Leadership Program was established by a financial gift from Harry M. Cornell, Jr., our CEO from 1960 to 1999, and gives students at MU’s Trulaske College of Business an opportunity to build leadership and business skills.

During the two-day visit, students toured our local Idea Center and Machine Products branches and enjoyed discussions, presentations, and Q&A panels. Many of our L&P presenters are proud MU alumni!

Check out some photos from the event below:

Students pose for a group photo with members of Leggett’s leadership.
Students tour our local branches in Carthage, Missouri.
Students listen to a presentation by our CEO Mitch Dolloff.