Houston’s ‘Mattress King’ hosts victims of Harvey
A SMALL business owner in Houston is doing his part to help the victims of the city’s floods. He’s providing shelter.
Known locally as the Mattress King of Houston and for his boisterous local TV ads (he actually wore a mattress in one), “Mattress Mack” McIngvale is stepping up to help Houstonians in need find safety, food and a warm place to sleep. He’s turned two of his popular stores into shelters and has organised volunteers and trucks to help rescue his fellow Houstonians, according to this report from The Hill.
McIngvale has always been known to be charitable. Each year he gives away furniture to families in need during the holidays. But now his philanthropy has been called to meet a new challenge.
The business invited “anyone in need of shelter who can safely navigate out of their neighborhood” to his stores in the Houston area for “dry shelter, food and more”, he said in a Facebook post where he also shared photos of children playing on mattresses and others sitting on his furniture. Approximately 300 to 400 people have taken him up on his offer at each location.
McIngvale is not afraid to put himself out there to get a little media attention for his business. According to Esquire, he’s been known for his attention-getting promotions like once betting (and losing $4 million) to his customers that the Houston Astros couldn’t win 63 games (McIngvale was turning 63 that year . . .and they won 70) and on the 2016 presidential election which reportedly cost him another $10 million. But he said this is no PR stunt and is truly a gesture to help his fellow community members in a dark time for the city.
“If we can do that and make their lives a little easier as they try and get things back together, then maybe we’ve done something right in our lives,” McIngvale said.