On Thursday, Saint Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County distributed 120 twin-sized Tempur-Pedic mattresses to low income families. For free.
St. Vincent de Paul frequently receives requests for all kinds of donations, from bedding to appliances. The list of those in need of mattresses had grown to include several families.
Terry McDonald, Executive Director of St. Vinny's, learned that Boston-based Tempur-Pedic restores and sanitizes used mattresses.
So, he reached out to the upscale company and together, they created a pilot program to donate gently used mattresses to low-income individuals and families in Lane County.
St. Vinny's Paul Neville says once the word got out, demand for mattresses skyrocketed.
Neville: "We had at least 16 standing requests for mattresses, contacted them and gave them vouchers. And then, the Register Guard ran a story on this. We referred all inquiries to our social services office, very quickly had issued vouchers for the remainder of the mattresses."
Neville says St. Vinny's hopes to receive more Tempur-Pedic mattresses soon and has plans to distribute them to families as far away as Northern California.