Saranam, a local nonprofit for homeless families, received close to 40 mattresses Tuesday as a donation from American Home Furniture and Mattress.
Dozens of high school students from Albuquerque Academy volunteered to help unload and deliver the $20,000 worth of new mattresses, according to a news release from Saranam.
“This donation will help ensure that every person has the dignity and security of a place to rest while they focus on building their futures,” Tracy Weaver, executive director of Saranam, said in the release.
American Home Furniture and Mattress has been operating for close to 87 years in New Mexico. The company has been supporting Saranam since 2012 and has donated about $50,000 worth of mattresses, according to the release.
“We are committed to making a positive impact on the lives of those around us, and this was just one way we could do so,” American Home Furniture’s owner Kenton Van Harten said.
Saranam is a nonprofit that has been helping families experiencing homelessness for 19 years, according to the release. The two-year program has the capacity to help 20 families at a time by providing education, training and fully-furnished apartments.
The nonprofit has served 162 families with a 77% success rate of families moving out into “safe, stable living situations,” according to the release.
Dianne Campbell, Saranam’s director of development, said an expansion of the program, consisting of 25 casitas, is being developed near Montaño and Taylor Ranch on the West Side.
Families get to take all household items they were provided when they complete the program, so Saranam is constantly looking for household items to refurnish their apartments, according to Campbell.
“We are so grateful for community partnerships including this one with American Home Furniture because we couldn’t do the work that we do … without all of our volunteers, all of our community partners,” Campbell said. “We’re a pretty small organization, with only six full time staff, but we really run on community involvement, donations and volunteers.”
