Bob’s Discount Furniture & King Koil Help Furnish Apartments for the Homeless

Furniture World News Desk on 3/3/2015

Many cities across the U.S. are grappling with chronic homelessness caused by a lack of affordable housing. But one New Jersey community is taking steps to address the problem head-on, with help from Bob’s Discount Furniture and the largest U.S. King Koil mattress licensee Blue Bell Mattress Co. Inc.

This March, tenants will start moving into newly constructed affordable apartments built on vacant land at the former Camp Kilmer army base in Edison, N.J., about 20 miles southwest of New York City. Although most of the 120 apartments will be reserved for disabled veterans and low-income residents selected by lottery, 30 are available for homeless families and individuals.

Most of the formerly homeless tenants do not own their own furniture, so to help them successfully transition into their new homes, Bob’s and Hartford, Conn.-based Blue Bell Mattress will split the nearly $20,000 cost of providing 54 sets of new mattresses and box springs. The companies delivered the first 27 mattress and box spring sets last week, and plan to deliver a second shipment of 27 sets later in the month.

The Kilmer Homes development is the result of nearly a decade of collaboration by a partnership of non-profit housing developers and services providers including Triple C Housing, Inc., Monarch Housing Associates, Edison Housing Authority, the Alpert Group, and various federal, state and local officials. The U.S. Department of Defense donated land for the project, and the Edison township agreed to defer property taxes for 15 years.

“We are proud to be able to support the ambitious efforts of Edison Township and the broad group of Kilmer partners to address the problem of chronic homelessness in their community,” says Bob Kaufman, president emeritus and co-founder of Bob’s Discount Furniture.

“A lack of affordable housing is one of the main causes of homelessness nationwide,” says Mark Kolovson, president of Blue Bell Mattress, “and the Kilmer Homes project shows that by working together and being willing to try new approaches, we can make a real difference in reducing, and ultimately eliminating homelessness.”

“We greatly appreciate the generosity of Bob’s Discount Furniture and Blue Bell Mattress,” says Richard Brown, CEO of Monarch Housing Associates, a non-profit housing development organization and partner in the Kilmer Homes project. “Many of the homeless residents moving in to Kilmer have never had their own apartments. These donated mattresses provide a big help to them as they settle in to their new homes.”

About Bob’s Discount Furniture: Bob’s Discount Furniture provides a wide variety of quality furnishings – including living room furniture, bedroom furniture, dining room furniture, office furniture and home accents – at everyday low prices. The stores also offer a unique and enjoyable shopping experience featuring cafes in each store with free gourmet coffee, ice cream, cookies and candy. Since 1991, Bob’s has built strong customer loyalty by offering the highest-value home furnishings at the lowest possible prices. With 57 furniture stores located throughout New England, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, the Manchester, Conn.-based company has become the 14th-largest U.S. furniture chain. Bob’s is committed to supporting communities where its stores are located through a variety of charitable giving efforts. Bob’s Discount Furniture Charitable Foundation has anchored the company’s philanthropic work for more than 15 years. In addition, the Bob’s Outreach program was created as a separate entity to help schools and children-related charities. The company donates over $2 million to charities through these programs each year. For more information on Bob’s charitable programs, visit http://www.bobscares.org/, and follow us on Twitter @MyBobs and @MyBobs_Charity and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MyBobs.

About Blue Bell Mattress: Hartford, Conn.-based Blue Bell Mattress Co. Inc. is the largest U.S. licensee of King Koil brand products. Blue Bell sells King Koil brand and private-label innerspring and hybrid mattresses to bedding and furniture retailers serving customers in more than 1,300 store locations across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states. The owners of Blue Bell, a third-generation family-owned business that has been manufacturing bedding products since 1928, sold a majority stake in the company in early 2014 to private equity firm Longroad Asset Management LLC, headquartered in Stamford, Conn.