Comfort as a Tool for Compassion

#NiceWork! Post 15 Tuft and Needle is a national mattress company on a mission to spread compassionate comfort. The company is an innovator in both premium mattress production and providing those in need with a great night’s sleep.  By donating mattresses and profits to local charities and causes, Tuft and Needle is strengthening communities and engaging customers at the same time.  

Valuing transparency and teamwork, Tuft and Needle founders, Daehee Park and JT Marino, have assembled a team of entrepreneurs dedicated to making a positive impact. Melanie LaDue, a member of the Tuft and Needle team, told Envision that Tuft and Needle, “has been intentional in making social mission and the community the heartbeat of our company.”  In order to engage customers and donate mattresses, Tuft and Needle has pioneered a unique return policy. If a customer chooses to return a mattress, the mattress isn’t returned to headquarters. Instead, the company works with individual customers in order to donate the mattress to local charities and nonprofit organizations such as St. Vincent de Paul Society in Phoenix, AZ. Of course, Tuft and Needle still redeems the customer for the cost of the mattress.

In addition to return donations, Tufts and Needle supports communities by partnering with a variety of nonprofits and charitable organizations such as, UMOM, Chrysalis, Ronald McDonald House Phoenix Charities, firehouses, and schools nationwide.  Through Tuft and Needle Gives Back program, partner schools are able to absorb 25% of profits from mattresses ordered by anyone affiliated with the school, from parents to teachers. Recently, Tuft and Needle even made a large-scale donation to help Hurricane Harvey relief efforts in Houston.

The social mission of Tuft and Needle is embedded within all of the staff acting from the belief that, “values aren’t what you want to be, it’s who you are…we’re going to take the spirit of [Tuft and Needle] and find more problems worth fixing…we’re just getting started,” founders Daehee Park and JT Marino say in their “Our Story” video on the Tuft and Needle’s website.

If you are in need of a better night’s sleep, check out Tuft and Needle’s mattresses: https://www.tuftandneedle.com/. Think of innovative ways to spread kindness and continue to positively impact your community!

Kind Cotton: Inspiring Fashion that Gives

#NiceWork! In Sarasota Florida, a kind teacher is on a mission to promote both child literacy and good fashion. Kaitlin Lambert, teacher Alta Vista Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida, is working to provide books for children who need them the most.  In order to fund her operations, she’s utilizing her fashion sense to sell inspiring t-shirts online. Together, her business is called Kind Cotton.

Kaitlin has always made it her mission to help individual students grow as readers. “There is nothing in the world that compares to watching 18 kids’ eyes light up with curiosity as the pages of a book turn.” she explains in Kind Cotton’s blog. Still, though many of her students enjoy reading at school, they haven’t always been able to read at home. At Alta Vista Elementary, 97% of students fall below the poverty line. According to the Children’s Literacy Foundation, 61% of low-income families do not have any age appropriate books in the home. “Parents [in poverty] are stretched to work three jobs simply to ensure their kids have a place to live and a meal to eat,” Kaitlin explained to Envision Kindness.

A 20-year international study found that access to books in the home is a huge indicator of academic success. In fact, books play an even larger role in predicting future academic success than parent education level. So, Kaitlin started buying books for students on holidays or special occasions. She would even give books to students when they showed a particular interest in a book in her classroom. But Kaitlin wanted to do more. The 2010 U.S. census found that about 1 in every 5 children in the United States are living in poverty. So, funded by an Indiegogo campaign, Kaitlin founded Kind Cotton. The company uses a 1-to-1 model; for every item purchased on the Kind Cotton website, a book will be donated to a child in need.

Kind Cotton cares about making lasting impact on children’s lives. Kaitlin and the team want to make sure that the books they give stay in the households that need them most. In order to address this need, Kind Cotton has recently partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Newtown Estates Park. Every month (starting this November), Kaitlin will spend time reading with Kindergarten and First Grade students. Each month will focus on a new book. At the end of every event, each child will get to go home with a copy of the book. Kaitlin purchases the books from Scholastic for a great discount. In the future, Kaitlin hopes that Kind Cotton will be able to broaden its reach by working with other groups such as the Sarasota Housing Authority. Kind Cotton is also working on developing parent information nights to help parents support their children become successful readers.

The young company is even getting involved in the community in other ways. Kind Cotton has already given $400 to Irma relief efforts at Lake Trafford Elementary School.

Inspired by Kaitlin and Kind Cotton’s work? Support child literacy and check out their online store. Your life and experiences are unique and valuable. Leverage your skills to help those in need around you.  

Kind Business Number: 14