We’re about halfway through our latest effort to support foster children and their families, and I couldn’t be more excited about what we’ve seen so far!

At the beginning of this month, Mattress Firm Foster Kids launched our “Little Victories” campaign, with the goal of celebrating the important moments in a foster child’s development that might have otherwise been overlooked. A clean plate, a toddler sleeping through the night, a child cleaning up his room without being told – these are victories worth getting excited about. We hope that by sharing these stories, we’re helping to ensure that there are more of them in the future.

Share Your Child’s “Little Victory” with Mattress Firm

From now until Tuesday, Oct. 31, we are asking you to share your stories of little, big, and all the in-between accomplishments from foster and adopted kids so we can share them with our community. For every entry, Mattress Firm is donating to the Mattress Firm Foster Kids program, up to $5,000.

Here are a few of the Little Victories we are celebrating!

To share a photo or video of your child’s “Little Victory” on either Instagram or Twitter, simply use the hashtag #MFFKVictories and tag @MattressFirm and include a caption sharing your story, making sure that you don’t show your foster child’s face for privacy reasons. (Tip! Make sure that your page isn’t set to private so we can see your awesome kids!)

You can also directly upload photos or videos on our website.

“Little Victories” Make a Big Difference

One of the reasons I’m so excited about “Little “Victories” is because this idea of small things having a big impact is what Mattress Firm Foster Kids was founded on. We began in response to requests for support from local nonprofit foster care organizations, citing a need for items like shoes, clothing, pajamas and school supplies. Through six annual donation drives, we collect these essential items that most of us don’t think twice about and donate them to local organizations, who then distribute them to foster families.

For example, right now we’re also in the middle of our annual shoe drive to collect new shoes for foster children. We want to help kids in communities across the country walk with confidence, so we made this video to show how important something as simple as a new pair of shoes can be to a child.

Both the shoe drive and the “Little Victories” campaign end on the last day of this month – Oct. 31. Please join us in any way you can, either by bringing a new pair of shoes in any size (from toddler to teen) to a Mattress Firm location near you, or by sending us a photo of your child’s “Little Victory” with the hashtag #MFFKVictories.

As always, thank you for your generous support of local foster families. We truly appreciate your partnership and participation in these events.