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Jumping on the bed: Samaritan Inn families treated to a little summer fun

McKinney Courier-Gazette - July 6, 2009 - Forget everything your mother told you about not jumping on the bed. Rule number one of Sleep Experts' Rest Assured team is, the bigger the bed the better the bounce. The team of about 15 employees headed out to the Samaritan Inn on Tuesday evening, July 30, to set up an enormous bounce house shaped like a bed.

Families living at Collin County's only homeless shelter were treated to an early Fourth of July celebration with food, games and crafts during an event called Family Fun Night.

"Part of our commitment to the community is to bring comfort to families," Dianne Piller of Sleep Experts said. "This evening we've got a bounce house, face painting, tables set up to make bracelets, and games where kids can win prizes."

Sleep Experts recently helped support the Samaritan Inn by providing refurbished mattresses for the Inn's Gateway Apartments, Piller said. The apartments opened last year with 20 units to help families get on their feet after graduating from the shelter's program. She said it's always fun to do activities for the families and the children staying at the Inn.

"Stuff like this is big time to them," Samaritan Inn's executive director Lynne Sipiora said. "They're our future and we want to break the cycle of poverty."

Feasting on a meal of steak tacos, steak burritos, rice, beans, guacamole, chips, and salsa, tables of moms, dads, children and friends had the opportunity Tuesday to relax and have fun for the evening. The food was donated by Taco Bueno and served by volunteers from Sleep Experts and Taco Bueno store managers from Plano and Frisco.

"The president of our company is high on this kind of thing," Rex Poursoltani, with Taco Bueno's corporate team said. "We really value getting involved in the community, schools, and charities."

Brandon, age 7, said his favorite part of the meal was the steak taco. He and siblings Brianna, Erica, and Enrique said they were heading out to the bounce house as soon as they finished eating.

Not only were the families thrilled to participate in the evening's events, volunteers seemed excited as well. Piller said their group was composed of a couple owners of the company, sales associates, corporate employees, and operations staff.

"You look around and you can't tell who's corporate and who's sales," event coordinator Larry Atherton said. "Events like this make us tighter and help people trust each other.

He said they try to do an event, some big and some small, once a month to give back to the community.

"We love Sleep Experts," Sipiora said. "They've done an awful lot for us and we are very grateful."

By Katie, Knickerbocker, McKinney-Courier Gazette