Sleep Train Hosts Holiday Social Contest to Drive Toy Donations for Foster Children
Competitive Season of Giving Prompts Company to Host Engaging Secret Santa Photo Contest to Encourage Community Donations of Toys & Gifts for Foster Children
For Immediate Release
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Sacramento – November 5, 2012 – Each year, Sleep Train, the number one mattress retailer on the West Coast, collects gifts and toys for California’s more than 60,000 foster children who are separated from family and friends. Many children enter foster care just before the holidays with only the clothes on their back and aren’t guaranteed to wake up with a gift under the tree. Whether it’s a new baby doll, a Lego set, art supplies, or even a gift card, these gifts can mean the world to a foster child.
This year, the company is raising the bar on its efforts to capture donations during a season when many other charities are also seeking support to ensure no child wakes up without a gift. Sleep Train is hosting the “Be a Secret Santa Photo Contest” on its Facebook page to help boost awareness of this need and harness the power of social media to encourage and incentivize participation.
Entering the Be a Secret Santa Photo Contest is easy. Starting November 12th and running through December 9th, individuals and businesses are encouraged to embrace the spirit of Santa and drop off donations of new, unwrapped gifts to any Sleep Train store. While in the store, donors should snap a photo of themselves playing Santa as they place their new, unwrapped toy in the Foster Kids bin and post their photo to the Be a Secret Santa Photo Contest on Sleep Train’s Facebook page. Participants will compete by getting friends and family to vote on their photos, and at the end of the contest, the photo with the most votes will win a new Kindle Fire HD AND a pair of Santa’s favorite Tempur-Pedic slippers.
Sleep Train hopes this social promotion will increase donations by at least 10% this year and is encouraging its 24 foster organization partners to share the opportunity to give with their supporters. Last year, the Sleep Train Toy Drive for foster kids collected 34,160 new unwrapped toys and gifts.
“This can be an especially difficult time of year for foster children to be away from their families. Ensuring foster kids have a gift to open that is theirs to keep adds that magical feeling back into their holidays and makes it less stressful for foster families,” said Roberto Favelo, vice president of foster care and adoption services at EMQ FamiliesFirst. “Social media has been an incredibly powerful tool in reaching out to our community and garnering support. We’re excited to see the Sleep Train Secret Santa Contest inspire community members of all ages to donate to local foster children.”
Ready to get in the spirit of Saint Nick and be a Sleep Train Secret Santa? Drop off new unwrapped toys and gifts at any Sleep Train store, or donate online and Sleep Train’s holiday elves will do the shopping for you. You can even organize your local school, sports team, or business to rally behind the cause and Host-Your-Own-Drive.
Donate to the Sleep Train Secret Santa Toy Drive for Foster Kids November 5th through December 16th and remember that while “Not everyone can be a foster parent, anyone can help a foster child.” Happy Holidays!
Secret Santas! ‘Like’ Sleep Train on Facebook: www.facebook.com/sleeptrain