Written by Carol Crist

When you hear the phrase “shop local” do you ever stop to actually think about what that means? Here at Anderson Design Center, it means giving back to our local community and the people in our area that need help. Mr. Anderson has lived and worked in Hattiesburg his entire life and is a role model for giving back to this community. As an employee, I have seen first-hand the good we as a company do for our community, and I’d like to tell you a bit about that because to me, it is important to shop local and support local.

Mr. Anderson is currently on the board of our local United Way of Southeast Mississippi and has served as past president for several terms. Anderson Design Center has been partnered with them for over 20 years in serving the needs of great organizations in this area. Ninety-eight percent of our employees donate money each pay period to our local United Way. This organization helps our community in so many ways! They have programs for working parents that need help with child care and continuing education in the summer or after school. They provide medicine for people that can’t afford prescriptions, hot meals for the homeless and shut ins, and food banks for the homeless. And that is just a very small portion of what United Way of Southeast Mississippi does.

We also donate to smaller local organizations. When you go out to watch your children play in the Dixie Youth Children’s baseball games, have you noticed our name on the children’s shirts? We also support William Carey athletics as well as numerous independent causes where local lives are in need.

When you go to our local animal shelters, those fluffy carpet remnants that the kittens or pups sleep on have most likely been donated by Anderson Design Center.

Let’s not forget one of our favorite events, our annual Teacher Appreciation Bound Carpet Give Away Day, in which we have shown gratitude to our community’s kindergarten through third grade teachers by helping to improve the classroom experience for well over 10 years! Last year we donated over 300 bound carpet in varying sizes, some up to 9×12. The rugs are free of charge and are available on a first-come-first-serve basis while supplies last to teachers within a 50 mile radius of Hattiesburg. What started out as remnant giveaway has turned into an intentional effort of purchasing a decent product for the giveaway to be used in classrooms for children to sit on during story time or music time.

The giveaway started years ago when teachers would individually approach Mr. Anderson about getting a carpet remnant for their classroom, and he would respond with “Don’t tell anybody where you got this.” Word of mouth spread and before long the program became something substantial and has even grown into a party of sorts. We make it fun by supplying coffee from Java Moes or The Daily Grind, juice, milk and doughnuts from Midtown Donut and Krispy Kreme. This makes it fun for the large amount of teachers as they wait their turn to select a rug. (Of course, 2020 brought changes and we were not able to provide refreshments last year.)

Lastly, Mr. Anderson also serves on the Area Development Partnership Board of Directors, the Pearl River Community Foundation Board, and is an active member of Rotary of Hattiesburg.

So, when you are considering where to invest your hard earned money on a home remodel, new construction, furniture and accessories, carpet, flooring, or cabinets, I encourage you to ask yourself, “Is this a locally owned company that will reinvest in the lives of this community?” The answer at Anderson Design Center is and has always been YES!

Scroll below to see some highlights and you might just find yourself in a photo! 

Students enjoying their classroom rug. 

A kind note sent by students years ago. 

Our showroom fills up quickly with teachers from around the Pine Belt. 

We’ve hosted several blood drives and employees are always willing to jump in and help. 

We love animals around here and our employees creativly come up with ways to donate.

Mr. Anderson received the Spirit of Rotary Award. 

 Mr. Anderson is proud to support young professionals and received the Pine Belt Young Professionals Stewardship Award.