DownEast donates portable mattresses to those in need
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IDAHO FALLS — Children who haven’t had the chance to sleep in their own bed will now be able to get a good night’s rest, thanks to DownEast Home and Clothing.
The Utah-based retailer gave 22 mattresses to The Haven Shelter for women and families.
Anne Johnson, the manager of the Haven, said the beds will go to the children they serve.
“This way I can have an actual bed for everybody,” Johnson said.
The presentation of the mattresses was held with local DownEast store associates, as well as a co-founder of the company, Bill Freedman. Freedman said DownEast created this specific mattress, called “Mattress on the Go.”
“What I love about it is that we didn’t sacrifice the features. So you still get all these performance features, but it is portable and it really suits the needs of those that will use them,” Freedman told EastIdahoNews.com.
The mattress was designed for those in transient conditions and solely for donations. It is a lightweight, twin-size, foldable mattress that is infused with lavender cool-gel memory foam. It folds into thirds and has handles for easy transportation. The washable mattress is also certified for safety and can convert into a small sofa or chair.
“They can fold it together during the day so it doesn’t impact their living space,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the shelter is serving about 30 children. These donations will go to help kids now and in the future. Johnson said it can be difficult to house large families with only a full-sized bed, or a queen in a unit. She said she often has to find a crib-sized mattress for the kids to have somewhere to sleep.
“Anyone can get a great night’s rest on this (on-the-go) mattress, but we believe the greatest need is with kids. They deserve a great nights rest. Just like food or water, sleep is something that you have to have to fuel your performance and they deserve to have a shot just like everybody else,” said Freedman.
For every mattress DownEast sells, it donates a Mattress on the Go to someone in need. The company has donated 700 mattresses since early November throughout several cities in the Intermountain West.
“Somebody asked the question, ‘Can we actually give away a mattress for every single mattress that we sell?'” Freedman said. “As we studied it, we decided that we couldn’t afford not to do that.”
This program is an ongoing initiative for the company. So far it has donated in towns with a DownEast retailer present in Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Arizona.