03 Jul  Families Find Strength After Hurricane Irma Through Mattress Donation  

Organization: United Way of Lee County
Lives Impacted: 80+
Donor: Tempur–Pedic (Hurricane Donation)
Website: https://www.unitedwayofleecounty.com/about-us

As Told to Good360 by United Way of Lee County 

The United Way of Lee County, located in Opelika, AL, generates the necessary resources to meet the needs of the community. Through recognizing that meeting basic human needs should be the overriding consideration in all decisions – United Way works to impact the community through four focus areas. We mainly help children and youth, we promote health and financial stability, provide assistance during times of crisis and strengthen the community as a whole.  We have been serving victims of Hurricane Irma since the storm ended in September 2017, and there is still a great need in the area. We do everything we can to meet that need, including visiting homes where we witnessed families who have lost everything and helping them with their items. 

We work with different partner agencies like Community Cooperative, reviewing client applications and assessing what kind of furniture and beds are needed. Once we find out how we can help, we reach out to the families to schedule an appointment to deliver their furniture and beds. The communities we serve include Fort Myers, North Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Lehigh and Bonita Springs, and all were directly hit by the storm. The Tempur-Pedic beds from Good360 went directly to these affected families. They have made a huge impact in our recovery efforts and have helped tremendously in disaster relief. 

I have gone to countless homes during this recovery process and every single home is empty due to countless families losing everything in Hurricane Irma. Many displaced families have moved into their new homes and lack the furniture they need to make it feel like a home. One woman was handicapped and couldn’t sleep on the floor.  Having this bed was life changing for her. There was another woman in Lehigh Acres who has four children who were all sleeping on the floor, and having comfortable beds helped this mother and her children sleep better at night. This donation has changed people’s lives and we are very grateful. Thank you again Tempur-Pedic and Good360.