As an employee-owned company, all of our employee-owners own shares in the company. This creates an incentive to do the best work we can to create value for our customers. It also empowers everyone to bring ideas to the table that will help our company best live our corporate values. Our lead mattress maker, Aaron Bisson, had a brilliant idea that found an innovative way to support a local nonprofit organization, while improving our internal goals to minimize waste.
The comfort layer on the top of our mattress comes in rolls that we cut into the specific sizes (i.e. queen, twin, king, etc) when we are making our beds. When we get to the end of the roll, we always have excess material that’s not quite big enough for a mattress. Aaron’s idea was to use the surplus to make pet beds, instead of disposing of it.
We reached out to Dakin Humane Society in Springfield to see if we could donate the beds to them, as a way to support the great work they do in our community. Thus, our partnership was born.
We coordinate with the Dakin team to customize the sizes needed, including small beds that fit inside the pet carriers the adopted animals go home in, and bigger beds for larger dogs. The number of beds we donate is based on the amount of excess bedding material we have. The more beds we sell, the more pet beds we can make and donate.
Kaitlyn Holloway, Community Engagement Manager for Dakin Humane Society, said, “We are so grateful for this ongoing donation from Yankee Mattress. We rely solely on contributions from individuals and businesses who care about animals, and these beds allow us to enhance the care and comfort we provide. The idea was a stroke of brilliance.”
Located in Springfield, MA, Dakin Humane Society provides shelter, medical care, spay/neuter services and behavioral rehabilitation for more than 20,000 animals and people each year.