Bed bugs?! Bah, humbug! Soon 106 low-income Calgary kids will be ‘snug as a bug in a rug’ in brand new beds donated by Mattress Mattress' Matts 4 Kids program

NeighbourLink's LeeAnne Alexander (L) and Nikki
Golnik (R) stand in the shadow of a stack of mattresses
donated by Mattress Mattress. Soon these twin beds
will be welcomed into the homes of children and youth
in need around Calgary. Thank you Mattress Mattress
for your generous donation!

Today, over 100 children are waiting to receive free beds from NeighbourLink. A few weeks from now, each will be sleeping soundly in their very own single bed donated by Mattress Mattress.

“It brought tears to my eyes to know that soon there will be less kids in Calgary sleeping on the floor,” said LeeAnne Alexander, manager of volunteer and operating resources at NeighbourLink.

Coincidentally, helping Calgarians in need ‘up off the floor’ is mutual lingo used by both NeighbourLink and Mattress Mattress for their respective LIFFE Support (Low Income Family Furniture Essentials) and Matts 4 Kids programs.

“People need to be made aware of just how great this need is,” said Lori Fecho, vice president of Mattress Mattress Inc.

“Matts 4 Kids has been our own charity since 2005 and our aim is to provide much needed mattresses for camps, shelters and kids in need,” Fecho added.

“Our mission is to get as many children off the floor as we can.”

At NeighbourLink, Alexander is continually trying to beat back wait-lists by finding donations to meet client demand.

“I was so happy when Lori told me they would donate enough twin mattresses to help bring down our wait-list,” she said.

Alexander’s next task is to secure a donation of approximately 90 single boxsprings and frames, or else nearly $6 thousand to purchase them. After that, her assignment will be to find volunteers who can help deliver these beds to their young new owners.

As for me, my assignment will be to capture the story of one child who receives a new bed - keep checking back for Part II!