Holly Discovered A New Way To Support Bridging
Lives We Touch Donor Story: Holly K. Donates Bed to Offer a Good Night’s Sleep
Holly keeps Bridging at the “top-of-mind” as she assesses her household needs. She learned about Bridging many years ago at a company department gathering that included a household goods drive for Bridging. Her employer, The Toro Company, is a longtime Bridging partner.
Ever since that collection, she donates good quality furniture and household items that she no longer needs to Bridging.
“Everyone can fall on hard times. I think, ‘how can I make someone’s life easier? Would they appreciate having something new, like a kitchen table?’ We did a kitchen remodel a few years back. I did an inventory of my cupboards and donated duplicates to Bridging. I have also gone through my closets and donated extra sheets,” she says.
Year round, and especially during the winter months when inventory is low, Bridging relies on new and gently-used furniture and household goods from community donors to furnish homes for 250 people each week.
In December, Holly discovered a new way to support Bridging—by donating blankets to the third annual Original Mattress Factory Bring A Blanket Drive. The collection of blankets supplies nearly half of the annual supply of 10,000 blankets needed for Bridging’s client shopping appointments.
“We donated several blankets to the blanket drive,” she says. “I saw a commercial about the event on TV. How easy for me to be able to go through my house, grab some blankets, and drive a few minutes to donate them? It was an easy touchpoint. It was great to have a place close to home with a convenient Saturday drop-off time.”
While dropping off the blankets at the OMF store in Shakopee, Holly entered her name in a raffle to win a free Original Mattress Factory queen-sized mattress. Days later, she was surprised to learn that she was the lucky winner!
She ordered the new mattress for her daughter and donated their gently-used mattress to Bridging. This was the second bed that Holly and her family have donated to Bridging!
Holly expressed gratitude to Original Mattress Factory in a note to the store manager (see below). She hopes that her mattress donation will provide stability and hope to someone who receives it through Bridging.
“I tried to do some “good” with my good fortune and help pay forward a blessing to someone else,” she says. “My hope is that by donating our gently-used bed, the recipient will have an opportunity to get a good night’s sleep, improving both physical and emotional well-being and setting them up for a successful day whether that be going to work, school, or whatever activities the person may be responsible for.”
Bridging relies on the community to stock our shelves! Especially during the winter months, we need couches, love seats, mattresses and box springs.
View our complete list of ITEMS TO DONATE.
Holly’s thank you note to Original Mattress Factory:
“I wanted to thank Original Mattress Factory for drawing my name as part of the Blankets for Bridging drive. I stopped into the Shakopee store last week and ordered my daughter a new mattress. We picked up the mattress on Wednesday and donated her existing OMF mattress to Bridging. My husband dropped off the mattress yesterday in Bloomington where the Bridging attendant made a comment about how nice the mattress was (it is still in perfect shape following the warranty work you had done on it a couple of years back). Bridging has been an organization my family has supported for many years and a place that we have made many donations. So, I wanted to let you know I tried to do some “good” with my good fortune and help pay forward a blessing to someone else.”