Fast-growing retailer Mattress Online has joined forces with a Yorkshire charity working to end the problem of bed poverty among children in the UK.
Mattress Online has signed a three-year charity partnership with Zarach, a Leeds-based charity that helps families living in poverty to access beds, bedding and other household essentials.
Zarach was founded in 2018 by Leeds-based teacher Bex Wilson after she discovered a child in her class did not have a bed and was sharing sofa cushions with siblings on the floor. The charity now partners with schools, manufacturers, and companies like Mattress Online, to distribute beds and basics to families in need.
Bex comments: “Mattress Online believes that sleep is a right for everyone, not a privilege, and we are delighted to have their support as a 'corporate dream maker'. Through this partnership, and by providing ongoing support and equipment donations, Mattress Online is ensuring that Zarach can continue to help as many children as possible.”
Mattress Online CEO Steve Adams says: “Every child deserves to have a clean and supportive bed of their own. Sleep affects our mental and physical wellbeing and is important in a child’s physical development. It’s vitally important we support Zarach as they strive to break the cycle of bed poverty. When we talked to Bex and began to understand the scale of bed poverty, we were shocked.
"Work with Bex and the team has already begun. We recently delivered a donation of much-needed beds, mattresses, and bedding to several families in desperate need of those vital basics, and we look forward to helping more families going forward.”
Since founding the charity, Bex has overseen the donation of more than 1000 bed bundles, which have a retail value of more than £500 each. More than 100 partner schools have joined Zarach’s referral network, and 10-15 referrals are made each week.
Pictured: Mattress Online staff prepare a delivery for Zarach
