Flooring Philanthropy: Mannington’s flooring donation helps the Boys & Girls Club of Newburgh, New York open up its new Center for Arts & Education – February 2025

By Darius Helm

Over the last year, Mannington Mills partnered with architecture firm CSArch and contract dealer Milburn Flooring on behalf of the Boys & Girls Club of Newburgh, New York to assist in the renovation of an old, neglected building to serve as the new Center for Arts & Education. Most products and services were donated, including over 18,000 square feet of LVT from Mannington Commercial.

Newburgh is a unique and historic town in New York’s Hudson Valley with a rich architectural history. Founded in the mid-18th century and used by then-general George Washington as the Continental Army’s headquarters in 1782 and 1783, the town, with a modest population of about 29,000, is at the center of a vibrant stretch of the river, including the town of Beacon across the water and West Point just a few miles downriver. The metro area surrounding Newburgh has experienced significant growth in the years since the pandemic, and Newburgh itself, while economically depressed, has started to receive a lot of attention in the last few years, in part because of its affordability, but also because of the town’s old-world charm and alluring location. Nevertheless, it’s a fairly poor town, which can present a significant disadvantage for children growing up there, meaning that organizations like the Boys & Girls Club play an invaluable role in providing opportunities the children may not otherwise have.

The first iteration of the Newburgh Boys & Girls Club dates back to 1946 with the establishment of the Community Workers Association, then as the Community Centers of Newburgh, before formally joining the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in 1995. And in 2011, it merged with the Newburgh Performing Arts Academy, headed up by Kevin White and Kim Turner. White is also the executive director of the Boys & Girls Club.

Serving underprivileged youth is a constant struggle, reports White, who raises money from individual donors, foundations and, mostly, government grants. When the performing arts academy outgrew its location a few years ago, the club started looking for new locations. The eventual location it settled on was a historic building dating back to the late 1800s, housing the Columbus Trust Bank (later, Key Bank), which allowed the organization to generate funding from both historic and new market tax credits. The four-story building is located in the center of town with a view of the Hudson and of Beacon on its eastern shore.

PARTNERS IN PHILANTHROPY
The next stage in the project was the result of fortuitous friendships. Tom Ritzenthaler, vice president of CSArch, an architecture, engineering and construction firm specializing in education projects, had opened a CSArch office in Newburgh in 2005, and as a board member of the Boys & Girls Club for several years, he was closely involved in the project. He had also known Max Cavalli, Mannington Commercial’s director of education market segments, for over 30 years. Cavalli himself had benefited from the Boys & Girls Club as a child in Brooklyn, so he was immediately drawn to the project.

Both Cavalli and Ritzenthaler had in the past worked closely with contract dealer Milburn Flooring and its president and owner, Mike Vandenburg. Cavalli describes Milburn, which is headquartered on Long Island, as one of the top K-12 dealers in the country. And Ritzenthaler notes that Vandenburg has always been very supportive of the organization, including donating to the club’s capital campaign.

According to Ritzenthaler, the square footage of the building, not including the basement, was about 22,000 square feet, and it all needed flooring. “This was after Covid,” notes White. “So, material prices were escalating, and flooring was a huge part of the budget.”

Some hardwood was needed for the three dance studios, and this was provided by Milburn, which gave the club a generous deal. The bulk of the flooring-nearly 19,000 square feet-was donated by Mannington, mostly in the form of No Reservations LVT and Dispatch carpet tile. Milburn donated all of its labor costs, as well. And CSArch billed the club at a bargain-basement rate, doing about three quarters of the work for free.

Cavalli notes that, while Mannington regularly donates to similar projects, “these kinds of jobs don’t happen that often, especially at this scale.” Another notable high-volume project in recent years is the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, when the firm donated flooring for both its existing facility and its new building

In another moment of serendipity, a man jogging past the 78 Broadway location saw the work being done gutting the interior and decided to get involved, resulting in the donation of over $2 million from the Ohnell Family Foundation. The foundation has supported the club in the past, including through the donation of two Ford Transition vans five years ago.

DELIVERING OPPORTUNITIES
The new Center for Arts & Education is scheduled to open its doors at the beginning of next month. The original performing arts academy had faced a challenge in its early years, with parents concerned that their children couldn’t maintain good grades and also attend these after-school activities. It turned out that 85% of the students were reading below their grade level, so White, who had a background in youth programs focused on reading, added a literacy program. In this new space, while the second, third and fourth floors will be devoted to the performance (dance, music, theater) and visual arts, the ground floor will feature a literacy center for children in kindergarten through third grade.

The new academy is fee-based but is free for families that fall below an income threshold, accounting for about a third of all attending children, according to White.

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