Nonprofit My Very Own Bed delivers 7,000th bed on Give to the Max Day 2023
MINNEAPOLIS — The season of giving officially kicked off in Minnesota Thursday for the 15th annual Give to the Max Day. Thousands of nonprofits looked for donations to continue carrying on their missions of serving the community.
"How could you not want kids to be warm and safe in their beds? And have one of their own? So it's a great organization to be affiliated with," Nyia Harris said as she packed up bedding into a "dream kit."
Harris is one of the volunteers at the nonprofit My Very Own Bed.
"Productive sleep makes productive kids and that's what my very own bed wants in the community," Founder and Executive Director Michael Allen said.
Allen started the organization after he saw an unmet need working in social services as a housing locator for families experiencing homelessness.
"I saw kiddo after kiddo sleeping on the floor, sharing a bed, or sleeping on an air mattress," Allen recalled.
Thanks to donations, they're able to provide children who have recently moved into stable housing with a brand-new bed and dream kit personalized just for them.
"It's more than just a bed, right? It's a place for kids to call their own, to not only sleep, but to do their homework, to dream," he said.
Last year, they delivered 1,637 beds to 684 families across the Twin Cities Metro. On Give to the Max Day Thursday, they reached a new milestone and delivered their 7,000th bed since the nonprofit began in 2014.
"We all deserve a good night's sleep. I grew up having a bed. We all deserve that, a good night's sleep and a place to call your own," he said.