Bedding Industry: Big Hearts, Big Impact

The bedding industry has a long history of giving back. We look at some of the charities that link suppliers, manufacturers and retailers in their efforts to help those in need.

The Seena Magowitz Foundation, which supports pancreatic cancer awareness and care, has raised more than $13 million since its founding in 2002. Today, it does everything from funding groundbreaking research to hosting patient support groups.

And it couldn’t do all that it has done without the backing, especially in the early years, of the bedding and home furnishings industries, says founder, president and CEO Roger Magowitz.

“The bedding industry is really what made our (primary fundraising) event,” he says. “It’s certainly been proven that the home furnishings industry is very charitable.” 

You can see the bedding industry’s philanthropic nature through major fundraisers, like those of the Seena Magowitz Foundation, Beat Autism Now and City of Hope, that dot the calendar and draw the support and dollars of suppliers, manufacturers and retailers. 

You can see it in an organization like Relief Bed International, founded to provide the industry’s primary product — mattresses — to victims of natural disasters and conflicts, as well as others in need of beds.

 You can see it in the myriad ways that individual sleep products companies donate their time, money and products to nonprofit organizations throughout the year.

The past few years have been tough for the bedding industry, with consumer demand down significantly. And this summer has been full of political strife and uncertainty, brutal heat and an early start to the hurricane season.

So, it’s a good time to focus on something hopeful and positive, like all the good the bedding industry does beyond its already beneficial core mission of providing people with a good night’s sleep.

Finding meaning in loss

Many in the bedding industry know the story of the Seena Magowitz Foundation’s start in 2002, following the death of Magowitz’s mother, Seena, in 2001, just five months after her diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

As Magowitz retells the story of his mother’s diagnosis on the foundation’s website: “That fateful day of her diagnosis in 2001 is embedded forever. Unrecognizable symptoms had permitted pancreas cancer to advance well beyond the possibility of survival. Absent a sliver of hope and without viable treatment options, she bravely asked the oncologist how much time she had. With an empathetic voice, the doctor said just a few months. My mother was a fighter and mentally prepared herself for the battle that lay ahead. I was devastated. Angry that such a brutal disease permitted so little time. I knew nothing about this dreadful killer. Why so little time? No meaningful treatment options? No drugs to give even the slightest hope? Had the medical science industry and our government turned a blind eye to pancreatic cancer? The deadliest of all cancers?”

When Magowitz started the foundation, he was unsure the exact shape it would take, beyond helping to find ways to detect pancreatic cancer earlier and extend the lives of those diagnosed with it. 

“It all came from the pain and loss of losing a loved one,” he says. “When you (start something like this), you don’t really know what you’re doing. It’s just a way for you to relieve the pain and because you hope and believe that you can make the world a better place. … You take it one step at a time and these things just grow and grow.”

For most of the foundation’s history, its primary fundraiser was the Seena Magowitz Golf Classic and a related conference focused on advancements in pancreatic cancer research held in Phoenix.

Magowitz has deep ties throughout the bedding industry, having started work at the Mattress Discounters retail chain in his early 20s. He eventually bought the company, later changing its name to Metropolitan Mattress as he expanded into the western United States. In 2010, Magowitz sold his business to Mattress Firm and often explains that he sold to that retailer, in part, because Steve Stagner, Mattress Firm’s then president, CEO and board chair, agreed “to champion pancreatic research.”

The industry’s support continues today. Proving the point: Magowitz receives a notification when someone donates money to the foundation. In the middle of the conversation with BedTimes for this article, he got word of a donation from a major bedding retailer.

Covid-19 precluded holding the golf tournament for a couple of years and the foundation took the opportunity to rethink its annual event. Since 2022, it has held the Power of Us, drawing together patients, caregivers, medical professionals, advocates — and members of the bedding and home furnishings industries — for panels, presentations, discussions, tours and celebrations, including a Dinner on the Diamond at a major league baseball park. This year’s Power of Us event is Aug. 2-4 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

All in to raise autism awareness

The Seena Magowitz Foundation isn’t the only philanthropic organization founded by a bedding industry veteran that’s focused on a medical condition. In 2008, Doug Krinsky and his wife, Kelly, founded Beat Autism Now in Westerville, Ohio. The charity annually hosts Ante4autism, a poker tournament and silent auction during the summer Las Vegas Market. 

“Our original goal was to create awareness of the disability and make people aware it was a growing epidemic — and to raise some money to support Autism Speaks’ efforts of awareness and advocacy for support for families and individuals impacted by autism,” says Krinsky, director of sales at bedding company 3Z Brands. His career has also included sales roles with Serta and Restonic. 

This year, Ante4autism was July 27 at the South Point Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, with proceeds going to five charities: Autism Speaks, Cincinnati Children’s, the Grant a Gift Autism Foundation – Ackerman Center, and the National Autism Association of Southeast Ohio.

The summer Vegas show generally has lower foot traffic than the winter market, but that hasn’t dampened enthusiasm for Ante4autism.

“It has grown beyond my wildest thoughts from the original idea,” Krinsky says. “We started with 27 players and raised $6,200 the first year. We have raised over $1.3 million (as of December 2023) and have over 150 players every year.”

The event has fulfilled its intended goal of raising awareness about autism among those in the bedding and home furnishings industries, and both individuals and companies have become big supporters. This year’s presenting sponsor was Bedding Industries of America. At the time BedTimes went to print, other sponsors from the bedding industry included 3Z Brands, Leggett & Platt, Karl and Cathi Glassman, Carpenter, Ashley, Coconis Furniture and Mattress 1st, Big Sandy Superstore, SmartFlex, BoxDrop, Danican, Southerland, Biltrite, Colonial and Tempur Sealy International.

“The home furnishings industry and, especially the bedding part of that industry, has been instrumental to get us where we are today,” Krinsky says. “I have been surprised and incredibly humbled with the overwhelming support we receive every year.”

Offering hope 

In June, the home furnishings industry honored King Koil CEO David Binke, along with Catherine and Richard Frinier, co-founders and principals of the Richard Frinier Design Studio. Binke and the Friniers earned Lifetime Achievement awards at the West Coast Golf & Tennis Tournament in Coto de Caza, California, to benefit City of Hope. 

Along the way, the International Home Furnishings Industry group that supports City of Hope raised more than $960,000. City of Hope is the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States and is a leading research center for diabetes and other life-threatening illnesses.

Bedding industry sponsors of the recent fundraising event included King Koil, Sit ’n Sleep, Blue Bell Mattress, Tempur Sealy, Hollywood Bed, Serta Simmons Bedding, E.S. Kluft & Co., Ortho Mattress, Precision Textiles, RC Willey, Talalay Global and Matushita Greatwall Corp.

Ahead of the June event, Rick Powell, West Coast event executive committee chair, said: “We are incredibly fortunate this year to have giants in their respective fields, such as Richard and Catherine Frinier, and also David Binke of King Koil, industry icon in the bedding industry, whom we will also be honoring, generously give their time, influence and passion to support City of Hope and add to the more than $21 million raised by this event alone over its 32 years.”

In past years, other bedding leaders have been honored at the annual golf and tennis event, including the late Earl Kluft Jr. and Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale. City of Hope’s International Home Furnishings Industry group also hosts the Spirit of Life award dinner during the High Point Market in April.

Founded in 1965, the home furnishings group has raised more than $100 million through its flagship events, as well as other events and benefits.

Beds for those in need

Relief Bed International represents a different type of charitable effort, providing mattresses to those in need.

Industry veteran Scott Smalling says he founded Relief Bed in 2015 in Tacoma, Washington, with a goal “to create a bed which could be used to support relief efforts globally, whether that be natural disaster or humanitarian in nature.” 

“We were told that beds were one of the most asked for relief products that were not being properly supplied. Our vision for our Emergency Relief Bed was that it would be comfortable, durable, water-resistant, economical/efficient to transport to its intended destination, and reusable when appropriate,” adds Smalling, who founded premium memory foam brand ComforPedic and sold it to Simmons in 2007. Smalling left Simmons in 2015, affording him the opportunity to do something different and he knew that some of his most fulfilling moments had been when he’d worked on disaster outreach efforts. 

Relief Bed partners with humanitarian organizations like World Vision and Convoy of Hope to ship beds along with their other aid products, which reduces freight costs. Relief Bed also values that such groups have expertise and on-the-ground staff and volunteers, helping to ensure the beds make it to their intended recipients, Smalling says. 

The organization has donated 31,575 Emergency Relief Beds and, in recent years, has sent mattresses to wildfire victims in Lahaina, Hawaii, to earthquake victims in Syria and Turkey, and to Ukrainian war victims.

“Relief Bed International is still a small and growing nonprofit so we try to be very strategic about where we offer support. The war in Ukraine, for example, was very personal to us and we offered support well before we had funds available,” Smalling says. “… Being West Coast-based, the Maui fires hit very close to home as many of our supporters spend a great deal of time vacationing there or have family homes. This also was a donation where we gave first and worried later about funding it as the need was immediate. We had beds on their way to Maui within weeks of the fires to help with displaced families, and beds that were not used were immediately donated to local homeless shelters who loved them.” 

Earlier this year, Smalling launched Relief Bed Wholesale, which sells residential furniture and bedding online and through a showroom in Tacoma. Relief Bed Wholesale donates 10% of its net revenue in the form of beds to be distributed through Relief Bed International and its global partners.

And the organization will soon make a push to create more partnerships with bedding producers and retailers to launch efforts such as Buy One, Give One campaigns and other collaborations that will raise additional funds to supply more Emergency Relief Beds.

“Due to the reasonable cost of our Emergency Relief Bed and that fact that we have very little overhead to support the entity,” Smalling says, “it makes for a great opportunity for retail and wholesale bedding companies to come alongside us and help people sleep better all over the world.”

Smalling says he is grateful for his success in the bedding business and the relationships he’s formed with colleagues. Relief Bed, he explains, is his way of saying, “Thank you.”

“From early in my career, I was always motivated and energized around giving back,” he says. “From a biblical standpoint, the verse we share often is 1 Peter 4:10, which states, ‘Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.’ ” 

Too many to mention

It’s not possible to note all the bedding industry’s philanthropic efforts, with so many suppliers, manufacturers and retailers generously supporting charities that touch their hearts and need their help.

Their efforts and the organizations they support are varied. We’ll mention just a few that have come to BedTimes’ attention in recent months.

Avondale, Arizona-based bedding producer and international licensing group King Koil teamed up with the Boys & Girls Club of Hilton Head Island in South Carolina to host an afternoon of fun for children in the organization’s after-school programs. Supporting kids with different needs, Knoxville, Tennessee-based mattress maker Mlily USA recently renewed a commitment to support Special Spaces for another three years. The organization creates dream bedroom makeovers for children with cancer.

Holidays bring out the giving spirit. In line with its sustainability efforts and in celebration of Earth Day, Fairfield, New Jersey-based Precision Textiles funded the planting of 5,000 trees in Bladen Lakes State Forest near the company’s facility in Troy, North Carolina.

During the winter holidays, High Point, North Carolina-based Culp Home Fashions held its first Spread the Warmth initiative. Employees sewed mattress fabric remnants into blankets, donating 250 blankets to local charities that work with homeless populations. 

If your company has a new philanthropic effort or event, let us know. We want to share your good works. Contact Beth English, BedTimes editorial director, at [email protected].

The industry has a big heart, and BedTimes isn’t the only one that knows it.

“I remember speaking once to someone at City of Hope, a big hospital and big fundraising machine,” Magowitz says. “One way they raise money is to go out to each industry separately. So, it might be the construction industry, electronics industry, home furnishings industry. And I remember them telling me that out of all the industry categories, whatever they were at the time, the home furnishings people were always the most philanthropic people, as an industry.”

Read more on how the bedding industry gives back to the community.