Tempur Sealy’s Paula Higginbotham chose a women’s shelter to receive the first donated beds.
Mattress maker giving back by leaving something behind
By Janet Weyandt, YSN
For years, Tempur Sealy sold the mattresses it exhibited at trade shows to local retailers at a discount. Now, beginning with AVB’s recent 2023 Summit, they’re doing things differently.
Rather than sell the 79 beds it displayed at the Las Vegas show, the company donated every mattress to The Shade Tree women’s shelter. The Las Vegas charity serves abused and homeless women and children in crisis with emergency shelter and transitional assistance to help them get back on their feet.
“We started talking about charities in general and giving back,” said Paula Higginbotham, Tempur’s national account manager. “I wanted to start with a women’s shelter.”
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The Shade Tree planned to place the nine twin mattresses from the Summit EXPO within the shelter, and to save Tempur’s 70 donated queen mattresses for its clients as they move into their own apartments.
“We’re going to find a charity in every city we do these (trade shows) in from now on,” Higginbotham said.
YSN publisher AVB BrandSource is the nation’s largest merchandising and marketing co-op for independent appliance, mattress, furniture and CE dealers.
