THUNDER BAY – Scott Reid and Ashley Furniture HomeStore helped make the holidays brighter for some local families.
Reid, the owner of Thunder Bay’s Ashley Furniture HomeStore, launched the Home for Christmas contest in conjunction with Global Thunder Bay and CKPR Thunder Bay earlier this holiday season, where people were asked to nominate someone they thought deserving of a $10,000 furniture giveaway.
“When you start reading these stories of hardships that people were going through, it really puts into perspective that there are a lot of people in need,” Reid said.
Amanda Hurd, a mother of three kids, was selected to receive the grand prize gift after an outpouring of nominations were submitted.
“With this, obviously people were nominating people that they thought really needed the furniture,” Reid said. “I really liked the way it worked because it gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling knowing that somebody who really needed it was going to get it.”
But after seeing the number of entries, Reid worked with Ashley Furniture through the company’s Hope to Dream initiative to secure 10 twin beds through suppliers for a further giveaway.
“Having read all the entries, I knew there was a common theme of children sleeping on the floor,” Reid said.
“My kids are lucky. They get good grades in school, they want for nothing, they eat well and they perform well. Even in our own school, I see people that don’t necessarily eat well and don’t necessarily sleep well and then their grades aren’t very good and they’re wondering well. The reality is food, nutrition and sleep are critical components of growing up being a healthy, productive person. It makes me feel very happy to give these kids an opportunity to get a good night’s sleep.”
