Company shows soft spot for athletes with disabilities

The Adaptive Sports Center (ASC), a leading national nonprofit providing life-enhancing therapeutic outdoor recreation to people with disabilities, recently received a large donation of Tempur-Pedic mattresses.

The donation was received through a partnership with the United Breast Cancer Foundation (UBCF) and Good360. In-kind goods and products are primarily made available to UBCF through Good360, a nonprofit and global leader in product philanthropy based out of Alexandria, Va., that has appointed UBCF as an official Community Redistribution Partner for the thoughtful and purposeful distribution of in-kind donations to support other nonprofits, including ASC.

ASC received 45 mattresses in total to be used in its three facilities and distributed to clients in need. Six of the mattresses are being used in ASC’s intern housing. The interns are reporting their best and most comfortable sleep in years, which is helping with their positive attitude and ability to assist with skiing and snowboarding lessons for up to eight hours per day. Twelve of the mattresses replaced aging mattresses in ASC’s Gothic Lodge, which houses up to 16 clients during their participation with the local nonprofit.

Visiting groups staying at the lodge include veterans, teenage burn survivors, Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Kennedy Krieger Institute. Craig Hospital also bring groups of people with spinal cord injuries.

Tempur-Pedic mattresses are made of dense foam, making them ideal for people with disabilities because they reduce pressure points and can therefore reduce chronic pain. Six mattresses also were given to Six Points Evaluation and Training, a Gunnison County nonprofit serving adults with developmental disabilities.

Many Six Points clients also have physical disabilities, such as muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy and structural abnormalities that prevent them from having a good night of sleep. Six Points has not received a single complaint since receiving the mattresses. One client, Jeffrey Crawley states, “The mattress feels really comfortable. I like how soft it is and I have slept very well every night!”

The remaining mattresses will be installed in ASC’s brand new Kelsey Wright Building, slated to open in June 2019. The new, 25,000-square-foot facility will be one-of-a-kind in the nation for adaptive outdoor recreation and will include an entire floor of client housing. Over time, the facility will enable the Adaptive Sports Center to double the number of people it serves, and the housing is a critical component to the therapeutic impact of its programs, officials say.

Representatives of both ASC and Six Points say they’re grateful for the in-kind donation of mattresses — saving thousands of dollars and also improving the client experience.