Get a Better Night’s Sleep While Doing Something Good for Your Community- Sleep Train

Listening to Sleep Train's jingle, with a little kid singing: "You get a better night's sleep at Sleep Train" followed by a choo-choo whistle sound, one wonders what little kids have to do with with falling asleep each night. But, you can rest assured that your Sleep Train mattress is doing more than giving you a good nights’ sleep.

At Sleep Train, everyone from the president of the company to the local employees is dedicated to giving back to their community and their primary focus for giving is kids. In May of this year, president Dale Carson received the Honorary Service Award from California State PTA for his outstanding service to children for the past 20 years.

Of all the many projects Sleep Train has become involved in, their dedication to foster children stands out. Every year Sleep Train organizes and runs many different drives to collect much needed supplies for California’s 80,000 foster kids. A school supply drive is currently in action as things gear up for the fall, with a coat drive prepared for November and a Secret Santa Toy Drive in December. Each Sleep Train store is set up as a collection site where employees and customers can conveniently drop off donations. In their last drive, Sleep Train collected thousands of clothes to help fill the need of many foster kids.

Sleep Train does more than organize these much needed drives. They also run different charity events to help raise both money and awareness for other causes. One very successfully event is Sleep Train’s Charity Golf Classic. In 2007, tickets were sold out and the event raised over $300,000. The Sleep Train Sleep Over is another important event that raises money while giving kids in need the opportunity of a lifetime. Teaming up with the Sacramento River Cats Baseball team, Sleep Train hosts a sleep over where kids in need get to spend the night out on the field after a game. Each child gets a mattress as part of Sleep Train’s “Mattresses 4 Kids” program.

Even the employees are encouraged to get involved in their community. Sleep Train provides a wide selection of local groups who need volunteers and expects their employees to support the company’s different charity events. Charities can request to be added to their list on Sleep Train's website.

By Lauren Partain and Lalia Helmer