Magnets USA says that “community is the heart” of its business.
The company has proved that statement repeatedly in its years in business, working with non-profits such as the Rescue Mission on the annual Drumstick Dash, as a sponsor of many community events in Vinton, and now as a partner with Habitat for Humanity in the Roanoke Valley.
The company, located on Third Street in Vinton, recently donated $5,000 to the local Habitat organization.
According to Marketing Communications Coordinator Laura Richards, the amount was the culmination of Magnets USA donating $1 to the Habitat cause for every one of its famous Magnetic Football Schedules created online in 2017, plus additional donations.
The company has followed up on the donation by helping to build a Habitat house currently under construction in Roanoke City. Magnets employees volunteered most of the day on Saturday, May 5, working on the house located in the Melrose-Orange Target Area (MOTA). The Magnets USA employees began work about 8 a.m. wrapping the house with a vapor barrier and installing windows among other tasks— “working with the Magnets team they work with every day,” according to Richards.
They labored alongside Habitat’s “Builders Club” volunteers— described as “the heart of the Habitat for Humanity in the Roanoke Valley Volunteer Program.” Builders Club member Larry Kilgore of Vinton said members are volunteers who come out to work with Habitat each Wednesday and Saturday that they can– on Wednesdays as they are generally all retired, and on Saturdays because that’s when other Habitat volunteers still employed– like those from Magnets USA and Wells Fargo who are working on this particular home– are able to donate their time.
Some in the Builders Club start out with a significant amount of construction experience and others “come only with an open heart and an interest in learning all about the Habitat building process.”
The foundation for this home was laid in March and the walls started going up in early April. The Roanoke Habitat group usually has at least four homes under construction at one time. Currently they are working on five or six, with one ready to be dedicated in the coming weeks.
Habitat has 10 paid staff; all others building Habitat homes locally are volunteers. They depend on local businesses and organizations that take on individual Habitat houses as projects financially and through their labor.
Most of the homes the Roanoke Habitat organization builds are located in Roanoke City where vacant lots are more plentiful, less expensive, and often donated. The group has completed projects in Salem, Vinton, Roanoke County, and Buchanan, but mainly they concentrates on building in the city.
The home Magnets USA is working on is one story on a corner lot. More frequently the Habitat houses are two-story, but this one fit the space. It is 1,200 square feet in area. Project Manager Jeff Slinger from Habitat described the house as the most energy efficient house built in Roanoke City— so well sealed with foam insulation and wrapped with a vapor barrier that return air flow systems are installed for ventilation purposes.
Habitat for Humanity in the Roanoke Valley is part of a global, non-profit housing organization operated on Christian principles that seeks to put God’s love into action “by building homes, communities and hope.” It was founded on the conviction that “every man, woman and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety, and that decent shelter in decent communities should be a matter of conscience and action for all.”
The organization is dedicated “to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. “ Families purchasing the Habitat homes also help with the construction, providing “sweat equity.”
Founded in 1986, Habitat for Humanity in the Roanoke Valley has helped build, renovate and repair 216 decent, affordable houses that shelter more than 246 families locally. It is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, which was founded in Georgia in 1976. Habitat for Humanity International has sheltered more than 3 million people, providing more than 600,000 decent, affordable houses worldwide.
Magnets USA was founded by Dale Turner in 1990. The company moved to Vinton in 2016 and now has approximately 60 employees and 35,000 customers far and wide. The team produces millions of magnetized marketing products each year, including calendars, sports schedules, notepads, car magnets, and more, from a client base that stems largely from the real estate industry.
On May 11, Magnets USA received international recognition when it was awarded the Yoursuite Award at the SuiteWorld Convention in Las Vegas. Chief Operating Officer Donnie Martin and Magnets USA IT Director Jay Forrester accepted the award. The YourSuite Award recognizes a company with “the most innovative and impactful solution using the SuiteCloud platform,” according to Evan Goldberg, executive vice president of development for Oracle NetSuite.
Magnets USA spent months transitioning to NetSuite, a cloud-based business management software by Oracle. Martin and Forrester credit “ a team effort” in the family atmosphere at Magnets USA for the award.
