SELECT COMFORT HELPS FAMILIES WITH SICK CHILDREN SLEEP BETTER AT RONALD McDONALD HOUSE OF MOBILE

Mar 16th, 2004

MOBILE -- Select Comfort, the nation's leading bed retailer and creator of the Sleep Number‚ bed, has donated 25 Sleep Number beds to the Ronald McDonald House‚ of Mobile. Select Comfort employees traveled to Mobile to deliver and set up the beds.

Since Select Comfort became the "Official Bed Provider" for the Ronald McDonald House program in 2001, the company has donated more than 1,500 Sleep Number beds to many of the 150 Ronald McDonald Houses in the U.S. In 2004, Select Comfort is expanding its commitment to Ronald McDonald Houses, pledging 1,000 more beds.

"Like most Ronald McDonald Houses, our home relies primarily upon the generosity of its community and support from a wide variety of businesses, groups and individuals whose donations make up the bulk of our operating income," says Brian Hartzell, executive director of the Ronald McDonald House of Mobile. "Donations such as this from Select Comfort save our charity countless thousands of dollars annually, allowing us to focus available funding on much needed family services and other programs that benefit parents and children alike."

Each year, thousands of families stay at Ronald McDonald Houses while their children receive medical treatment at nearby hospitals. These family members frequently experience stress and anxiety that can disrupt sleep schedules, cause insomnia and provoke a greater occurrence of daytime sleepiness. It is during these stressful times that restorative sleep is needed most for recovering and healing.

"Watching a child struggle with a serious illness is difficult and exhausting, to say the least. Through our support of Ronald McDonald Houses, we hope to help families get a better night's sleep, so they have the energy they need during the day to be strong and supportive," says Noel Schenker, senior vice president of marketing and new business development at Select Comfort. "In clinical studies, our bed has been proven to improve sleep quality and to allow a deeper, more restorative sleep, something of great value to families under stress."

Select Comfort's long-term goal is to provide a Sleep Number bed for each of the more than 4,000 bedrooms in the Ronald McDonald Houses nationwide. Some of Select Comfort's suppliers also support the charity, including Winland Electronics that donates the electronic components for each Sleep Number pump that Select Comfort donates to Ronald McDonald House.

Located at 1626 Springhill Ave., near USA Children's and Women's Hospital and the Mobile Infirmary Medical Center, the Ronald McDonald House of Mobile has welcomed more than 1,100 families since its founding in February 2000.