First Downs for Mattresses

Posted on September 3, 2015

First Downs for Mattresses

 

Ohio State Buckeye fans have even more reasons to cheer on their team this year. Every time the Buckeyes earn a first down, Ashley Furniture HomeStore and The Better Sleep Shop will donate$200 to the First Downs for Mattresses fund benefitting the Furniture Bank of Central Ohio. The money will provide new mattresses to children in Central Ohio who currently don’t have a bed of their own to sleep in or are sleeping on the floor. A good nights sleep is no less important than food, drink, or safety in the lives of children. Healthy sleep positively affects neurologic development and appears to be the right medicine for the prevention of many learning and behavioral problems.

The mission of the Furniture Bank of Central Ohio is to stablize living situations for Central Ohio families and individuals struggling with poverty and other severe life challenges. The Furniture Bank is a unique and collaborative nonprofit organization that works with individuals, businesses, social services agencies and churches to help people struggling with poverty, homelessness, domestic violence, unemployment and other severe life crises. They collect and build furniture and then work with their agency partners to distribute furniture to families. The families they serve often have little to no material possessions when facing these severe life challenges. For example, in a shelter, beds, tables and linens are often provided. When families leave the shelter for their own housing, they often have nothing but clothes and a few personal items. Furniture is often not accessible to families, as it would cost nearly $1,000 if items were bought through second hand thrift stores. Adding in transportation of items to a home, it would cost nearly $1,400 to purchase and obtain a household of furniture. The Furniture Bank helps close the gap to meet this need for families in transition. Families visit the Furniture Bank to pick out an average of 16 pieces of furniture- beds, couches, dressers, tables, chairs and other household items at our one-stop showroom and have it delivered the same day. The demand for mattresses far exceeds the supply tough.

The First Downs for Mattresses program is a unique collaboration with Ashley Furniture and licensed by The Ohio State University. Former Buckeyes Craig Krenzel and Matt Finkes, understand the importance of a good night’s sleep to be at your best so they are teaming up to help promote First Downs for Mattresses. For details on how you can help the Furniture Bank of Central Ohio provide mattresses to kids in need, visit FirstDownsforMattresses.com