Press Release courtesy of Tuft and Needle
Unique initiative will provide over $27,000 in donated mattresses to benefit Jewish Family & Children’s Services
Olympic gold medalist swimmer, Anthony Ervin, has partnered with Tuft & Needle (T&N), the digitally native mattress brand that pioneered the disruption of the mattress industry, to provide $27,000 in donated mattresses to serve clients of Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS), a human services organization serving 80,000 Bay Area residents each year.
Thanks to the local initiative to help underserved families in the Bay Area to “wake up better,” a family with an urgent need in Marin County has already received six donated mattresses, and additional families affected by the Sonoma County fires received 15 donated mattresses. As part of T&N’s Gives Back™ program, the company and Ervin will fulfill the organization’s needs over the next year.
“I’ve been through life transitions and personal crises, but mothers and children are much more vulnerable,” said Anthony Ervin. “I appreciate T&N for helping them wake up better.”
As a problem-solving center in the community, JFCS is a resource for thousands of families, individuals, children, people with disabilities, and older adults who may be facing a personal life crisis, or just need a little help to get through the day. JFCS has over 40 programs, including the Dream Program, which helps survivors of domestic violence and their families rebuild their lives. By providing case management and practical support, JFCS’ clients are often in need of basic home necessities including mattresses, to ensure a restful, satisfactory place to sleep at night to foster wellbeing.
“This generous donation has helped several families of JFCS’ Dream Program get back on their feet after fleeing domestic violence,” says Nancy Masters, Associate Executive Director at JFCS. “JFCS is so grateful to Tuft & Needle and Anthony Irvin for their vision to help those who are vulnerable and in need.”
One mother who was recently homeless with her son was struggling to find furniture and bedding for her new apartment. She teared up when her new mattresses were delivered and said, “This is heaven! I haven’t slept well in so long and my son and I can’t wait to finally sleep comfortably.” After sleeping on their new mattresses, another single mother with two school-aged kids said, “These mattresses are amazing! We had our best night’s sleep in months! Thank you! What a Blessing!”
The Tuft & Needle Gives Back™ Program was developed with the universal idea that if there is one thing every person on the earth has in common, it is the need for a good night’s sleep. T&N understands this need, and wanted to find a way to contribute to local communities in a positive and impactful way. T&N believes that a good night’s sleep is essential to a thriving community by cultivating health and overall wellness.
About Anthony Ervin
Anthony Ervin is a 3x Olympian, 4x Olympic medalist, and the oldest Olympic swimming champion in history, surpassing Michael Phelps for the title. By claiming the 50 Freestyle gold medal at The Rio Olympics, 16 years after last striking gold in the same event in Sydney 2000, Ervin was crowned fastest swimmer on the planet, once again. After his win in Sydney, Ervin retired from the sport to find himself, setting off on a journey that was part spiritual quest, part self-destructive bender, involving Zen temples, motorcycles, tattoo parlors, and rock ‘n’ roll. Through this journey, Ervin explored a slew of identity labels that had plied his entire career: African-American yet passes for White, Jewish yet celebrates Christmas, the diagnosis of Tourette Syndrome, and the “rebel Olympian” image bolstered by auctioning off his 2000 gold medal to donate the proceeds to 2004 tsunami relief. In 2012, after being away from the sport for over a decade, Ervin resurfaced to make not only the U.S. Olympic team but to swim faster than ever before. In Rio last year, his circuitous comeback was complete: the oldest swimmer to win a gold in any individual race, he once again earned the title of fastest human in water.
About Tuft and Needle
Tuft & Needle is a bootstrapped, Phoenix-based company that pioneered the disruption of the mattress industry. Founded in 2012 by John-Thomas Marino, 31, and Daehee Park, 28, T&N is leading the revolution against unfair mattress markups, commission-based sales models, and information asymmetry by creating an exceptional, honestly-priced product. Having bypassed the option to raise outside capital, Tuft & Needle has nurtured the co-founders’ personal investment of $6,000 into month-over-month profitability, outstanding customer satisfaction reviews, and remarkable growth.
T&N offers one style of mattress that is made with its unique T&N Adaptive® Foam, crafted entirely in the United States, and is designed to be “universally comfortable,” helping people of all shapes, sizes, and sleeping styles to WAKE UP BETTER®. The mattress is conveniently compressed into a small box and shipped free of charge* to the customer’s door. Every mattress comes with a 100-Night Sleep Trial, free returns and a no-gimmicks 10-year warranty. Tuft & Needle has five retail store locations: Phoenix, Scottsdale, Gilbert, Seattle and San Francisco.
About Jewish Family and Children’s Services
Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties is one of the oldest and largest human service institutions in the United States. Founded in 1950 by immigrant pioneers, today JFCS continues to be an extended family for care, serving thousands of people annually with the highest quality, research-based social services. To learn more, visit www.jfcs.org.
Go, Anthony! What a mensch!
He first stands up against inequality a few weeks ago and now he is helping the unfortunate even more. Classy guy.