June 10, 2021
Community Forklift is nothing without our donors. Their generosity enables us to operate our reuse warehouse, where sales of donated materials fund our community giving programs, support our dedicated staff, and enable the reuse of materials instead of sending them to a landfill.
One of these generous donors is Fishman Flooring Solutions, a wholesale flooring distributor with local branches in Beltsville, Rockville, and Manassas. In April of this year, they donated 16 large rolls of carpeting to Community Forklift!
“Thanks to the amazing employee owners of Fishman Flooring Solutions for donating surplus carpet to our reuse warehouse,” Community Forklift CEO Nancy J. Meyer said. “Their generosity will give households and non-profit organizations access to free or low-cost floor coverings. We appreciate their commitment to bettering the communities in which they live and work!”
Community Forklift staff will cut each of the 16 rolls down into about 12 144-square-foot sections in order to stock our reuse warehouse. The carpeting is distributed for free to community organizations and households with limited incomes or sold to the community at below-market prices. You can even find them listed on our Community Forklift Marketplace!
“Thanks to the amazing employee owners of Fishman Flooring Solutions for donating surplus carpet to our reuse warehouse! Their generosity will give households and non-profit organizations access to free or low-cost floor coverings.”
Nancy J. Meyer, Community Forklift CEO
This donation to Community Forklift is one of many examples of Fishman Flooring Solutions employees supporting the communities in which they live. The company is 100%-employee-owned and has donated materials to Help and Emergency Response (H.E.R.), Ronald McDonald House, and other great organizations. Fishman employees also raise money for all sorts of causes and volunteer at shelters, schools, and other community organizations.
“Fishman Flooring Solutions has been in business for more than 100 years, which means we have deep roots in the communities in which we operate,” Fishman Flooring Solutions Vice-President of Human Resources Jon Karp said. “We are based locally and hire locally, and our employee-owners want to help their communities grow. Supporting a great cause like Community Forklift is a way for our employees to make a difference, and to do something that resonates with their values as employee-owners.”
Christopher Murphy, Fishman Flooring Solutions’ Beltsville, MD, Branch Manager, says that “these donations are given because there is a place for everything. This floor product can be new hopes for the less fortunate. Rather than throw them away to clear space, they wanted to give them to a resource that would put them to great use.” He summed up the donation with a quote from Muhammad Ali: “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.”
Founded in 1919 as L. Fishman & Son, Fishman Flooring Solutions has 37 (soon to be 38!) branches in 15 states. Their 240+ full-time employee owners sell flooring installation supplies and more to the trade. Thank you to Fishman Flooring Solutions for supporting Community Forklift and lifting up our community through reuse!
***
Every time you donate or shop at Community Forklift, you’re helping us lift up local communities through reuse. We turn the construction waste stream into a resource stream for communities in the DC region – by keeping perfectly good items out of the landfill, preserving historical materials, providing low-cost building supplies, and creating local green jobs.
