Tacoma, Washington-based Relief Bed International collaborated with its long-time partner World Vision donated 400 emergency relief beds to displaced families in the area following the Los Angeles County fires.
“I can deeply sympathize with first responders in all areas of service,” said Scott Smalling, founder of Relief Bed International. “While supplying beds does not belong in the same category to the extraordinary, life-saving and brave work that these men and women do every day, we at least understand that when we get asked to respond to an event.”
According to a news release, the Federal Way, Washington-based humanitarian organization World Vision Way handles much of the logistics of donating beds to the intended recipients. During the first week of the L.A. County response, World Vision U.S. shipped 11 truckloads of emergency response supplies to 13 different partners, where 10 different distribution events have taken place to serve families impacted by the wildfires.
“In week two of our response, World Vision shipped an additional 10 loads of emergency response supplies to various partners. Included in that week’s shipment were beds donated by long-term partner Relief Bed International,” said Michael Gillespie, senior director of corporate engagement at World Vision. “These beds will provide dignity and comfort to displaced families that can now achieve a better night’s sleep, to be rested to face their challenges in the days ahead. We are grateful to Relief Bed International and their heart to serve and provide some hope in this most difficult situation.”
British sleep tech brand Simba Sleep also supported Relief Bed International by donating some of the emergency relief beds that went to L.A. County. Simultaneously, Relief Bed International distributed nearly 100 new Simba Sleep mattresses to multiple homeless shelters and at-risk homes from Seattle to Indio, California, the news release said.
“At Simba, we are proud to collaborate with Relief Bed International in their vital mission to bring comfort and dignity to those affected by the devastating L.A. County fires,” said Emma Reid, director of sustainability at Simba Sleep. “By supporting the donation of emergency relief beds, we aim to provide families with much-needed rest and relief during this challenging time.”
Smalling appealed to corporate sponsors to support the work of Relief Bed International. “Since our inception in 2015 our private donors have done much of the heavy lifting to help us distribute more than 35,000 Beds, pads and relief supplies,” Smalling said. “While this is wonderful, we feel that our ability to expand and offer more support globally is with corporate sponsorships. This can be achieved by distributing donated mattresses to shelters for use when people are moving into permanent housing or creating one-for-one style campaigns for manufacturers or retailers in the sleep space. The one-for-one concept is simple and we know from experience that the consumers respond to this type of cause marketing.”
For more information about how to support Relief Bed International’s global efforts visit ReliefBed.org
