CINCINNATI — Fifty children in need of a bed of their own had their dreams come true Saturday morning.
St. Vincent de Paul, Morris Furniture Company, Park National Bank and the Cincinnati Reds partnered to provide 50 children with beds at the third annual "Day to Dream" event at the Cincinnati Reds Youth Academy in Roselawn.
Mike Dunn, St. Vincent de Paul executive director, said there is a “great need” for beds in Cincinnati, where some children sleep on the floor, on a sofa or with other family members.
"Our volunteers visit the homes of our neighbors in need and often find a pile of blankets on the floor where each night a child lays down to sleep," Dunn said.
The “Day to Dream” aims to solve that problem and raise awareness for the need for beds in Cincinnati.
Besides a twin bed with boxspring, blankets, pillow, and teddy bear, and more, each child received a Cincinnati Reds hat, ball and bat. Chick-fil-A was on hand to provide the families lunch at the Reds Youth Center Saturday.
A portion of all mattress purchases from Greater Cincinnati locations of The Better Sleep Shop inside Morris Home and Ashley HomeStore go to St. Vincent de Paul to help provide beds to families across Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
"Every child needs a bed and we are committed to bringing smiles to kids by giving those in need a bed of their own," said Larry Klaben, president and CEO of Morris Furniture Company.
WCPO anchor Tanya O’Rourke hosted the event, and WCPO staff volunteered to assemble the beds and help give them away.
WCPO also hosted a phone bank for the organization Monday, and generous donors in the community contributed $20,173.
