A Sweet Season of Volunteerism

Port Wentworth employees Brenda Rose and Pat House load up toys for the Salvation Army homeless shelter in Savannah.

This holiday season, employees at Imperial Sugar’s Port Wentworth refinery have been spreading some holiday cheer by donating time, toys and canned goods to their local Salvation Army. The way Brenda Rose sees it, employees are just giving back to an organization that was there for them when tragedy struck.

“After we had the explosion (at the refinery in early 2008), The Salvation Army really stuck with us from beginning to end, from providing lunch to moral support. They have poured out so much for us, this is our way of giving back to them,” says Rose, an appointment coordinator at the Port Wentworth refinery.

Brenda Rose receives toys from employees of Dilling, one of the plant's construction contractors.

Employees at the refinery regularly devote their time and resources to community causes, such as The Salvation Army, but they’ve stepped up their efforts for the holidays. For example, this season, Imperial Sugar employees channeled their inner Martha Stewarts to transform The Salvation Army shelter.

In November, a crew of Imperial Sugar volunteers, including CEO John Sheptor, supervisors and employees, arrived at the shelter with Christmas trees, a load of garlands, and rolls of wrapping paper for swaddling doors.

“When families arrived at the shelter, all the decorations made them feel a sense of having a home with Christmas inside,” Rose says. “The employees were grateful, because they wouldn’t have had the time to do all that decorating.”

Salvation Army's Majors Mary Kay and Sam Hearne receive toys from Pat House.

And the cheer-delivery mission didn’t stop there. Rose and Senior Human Resources Administrator Pat House have worked together to deliver a truckload of toys and several boxes of canned goods to the The Salvation Army’s shelter and community kitchen.

For Rose, the connection with Salvation Army is deeply personal. As one of five children raised by a single mother, Rose remembers one Christmas when she wouldn’t have received a single toy, but for the nonprofit.

“I remember it to this day,” recalls Rose. “It was cold and rainy, but my mom stood in that Salvation Army line, and she came back home with one toy for each of us. And we were overwhelmed with that one toy.

“I think it’s why I support them so much: They’ve always been there, all my life. They never say no.”

Toys collected for the homeless by Port Wentworth plant employees and contractors.