BY RUSSELL HUFFMAN
TheFlashToday.com
Every child that stays at the Fosters Home For Children went to bed Friday night sleeping on a new mattress thanks to the efforts of the Stephenville Evening Lions Club and Mattressville.
“We had been in discussions Fosters Home For Children about mattresses and were looking to see if we could get them a better deal,” David Davis said. “Brandon (McDonald) and I began discussing the idea of donating them.”
It was a great idea, but when the two looked at the expense of supplying 100 twin mattresses, it was a little more than Mattressville could afford to do by itself.
Rather than let the idea fade away, they decided to approach the Stephenville Evening Lions Club with partnering in the venture that came with a price tag just north of $12,000.
“We wanted to be able to provide them at dealer cost where we could make sure that every child was going to have a new bed,” Davis said.
The idea was a hit with members of the Evening Lions Club who were not only willing to donate half the funds but would also help with the removal of old mattresses and the assembly of the new ones.
With hopes of making the mattresses last a more extended time they were first unwrapped from plastic and then a mattress cover was put over them. From there the mattresses were put on a flatbed truck and then transported to the individual homes on the property.
Lugging around 100 mattresses and then stacking them in the corner of a large room was tough work for the Mattressville crew and volunteers and everyone was happy to take a lunch break before starting the unpacking process.
“This is just great,” McDonald said. “We’re so happy to be able to do this. We love to be able to give back to our community.”
The 60 children currently staying at the Fosters Home were all abuzz Thursday evening with cleanup from under their beds and super excited to be receiving new bedding.
“They were all so excited when they learned the news. I know as an adult I love getting a new bed so you can imagine how excited the children were,” Lacy Barton said. Barton who serves as the vice president of development for the Fosters Home for Children was beaming as she talked about the reactions of the children.
“This is so wonderful that a small idea turned into this with the help of Stephenville’s Evening Lions Club and Mattressville,” Barton said. “Everyone went to bed on time last night, and we are talking about 60 kids. That’s really something. I love it when mattress companies are generous enough to donate their products to those in need. I know plenty of others that donate mattresses like Leesa, who donates one mattress to charity for every 10 they sell which is amazing too.”
The Fosters Home For Children is a nonprofit organization that hosts youth from a variety of background ranging from children who are under the care of Child Protective Services to children whose current family situation leaves no one to care for them.
A place of healing, tutoring, counseling and more Fosters Home For Children has had its numbers run much higher than the current 60 children in residence.
“We are so thankful for this support from our community these guys have done an outstanding job,” Barton said.
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