CINCINNATI — Thousands of kids in the Tri-State go to sleep each night without a bed and you can help change that.
The annual Hope to Dream event at the Reds Community Fun Facility gifted 50 kids with beds of their own on Saturday. The event was held by WCPO 9, St. Vincent De Paul and Morris Furniture Company, with help from Standard Textile, Chick-fil-A, General Electric Credit Union and mighty men volunteers from Crossroads Church.
And you can still help: WCPO 9 will also be hosting a telethon on Thursday, Aug. 29 from 4 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Call 513-840-9276 to donate during that time. Every little bit helps.
For those who want to donate directly to St. Vincent De Paul's bed program, you can click here. A donation of $175 provides a bed, complete with a bed frame, mattress and mattress cover.
Dozens of volunteers gathered Saturday morning at the P&G Cincinnati MLB Youth Academy in Roselawn to build the beds ahead of a surprise for the kids.
"There's plenty of, plenty of kids in our community going to bed on the floor or on the couch," said Joshua Thorpe with Morris Furniture. "We really believe that every kid deserves a nice night's rest."
Mary Greer, one of the 50 children gifted a bed, knows all too well about the reality of not having a bed.
"We've been sleeping on air beds," Greer said. "And, you know, with air beds, you get a little prick or a little bump and it deflates. So, it's been a struggle."
Kaytlynd Lainhart, the vice president of external relations for St. Vincent De Paul, said we take for granted how beneficial and crucial having a bed is.
"We go home and we have a nice place to rest," Lainhart said. "And many kids, I mean, they wouldn't. They need a great start to the school year. Getting good sleep is a huge part of that."
Outside of the bed itself, the kids were also gifted blankets, pillows, care products and books.
According to St. Vincent De Paul's website, the event is a snapshot of the nonprofit's year-round Rahe Bed Program, which provides new bed frames, mattresses and mattress covers to families at no cost. In 2023, the bed program allowed more than 1,600 people to receive a new bed, including 649 children.
