Last August, Jessie McClintock’s family found themselves in a desperate situation. Their son, Briggs, who has Smith-Magenis syndrome, was struggling in ways that were not immediately visible to others but were deeply affecting his daily life. At just 3 1/2 years old, he had started to go bald at the back of his head from the constant tantrums and head banging he would do while sitting in his high chair. He also developed a habit of only napping there, which was becoming problematic since he was growing out of it. Jessie knew they needed a safer space for him to rest and cope with his emotions, but her options felt limited.
They had already purchased a safety sleeper out of pocket for their home, as the need was urgent, but they were also in the process of getting a bed through their insurance. The process, however, was long and drawn out, taking almost a year to finalize. In the meantime, Jessie researched and applied for several local grants hoping they might find some financial assistance to ease their burden, but none of the applications panned out.
At her wit’s end, she reached out to a friend to ask if she knew of any local organizations that helped families with special needs children. What happened next was nothing short of miraculous. Her friend, without hesitation, asked for permission to post their need on her Facebook page. The response was overwhelming. Within just 24 hours, her wonderful group of friends sent them $200. But the story didn’t end there. She then asked Jessie to FaceTime her, and she soon found out that a friend of hers—someone she had never met—wanted to buy Briggs the safety bed they so desperately needed.
Jessie learned that this friend was the secretary for a local company, and her boss had been looking for ways to bless others, long before he even knew what a “safety bed” was. One day, while attending church, he learned about a local organization called The Bed Brigade—a group that builds platform beds for people who don’t have beds. After hearing about this, he spoke with his secretary, and together they prayed about how he could help.
When the secretary saw Jessie’s friend’s post about a family needing a safety bed, she immediately thought of her boss and shared it with him. The very next day, he bought the bed for Briggs. Jessie was speechless, overwhelmed with gratitude, and in awe of how everything had aligned. Briggs’ life changed that day. His hair began to grow back; he finally had a bed where he could rest peacefully, and, most importantly, he could be kept safe during his tantrums. But the generosity didn’t stop with them.
After hearing how life-changing the bed was for their family, the donor asked if there were other families who might also need one. Jessie then took to Facebook, and within days, she had connected him with five additional families who were in similar situations. He didn’t hesitate; he agreed to buy them all a bed. The beds were purchased through Abram’s Nation, maker of the Safety Sleeper. Abram’s Nation was thrilled to help fulfill the orders and offered a group discount on the beds to make the donation dollars go even further.
Recipient Stacy Morton said, “These beds saved our sanity, our sleep, and the biggest of all..the safety of our children. The beds came at the perfect time just as I had given up on trying for the 4th time to apply for a safety bed through insurance and getting denied 3 times.”
A few months later, the donor’s secretary reached out again to ask if there were more families in need. Jessie found five more families, and, once again, the donor stepped up and bought them safety beds, too. In total, ten beds were purchased in just five months changing the lives of these families in ways we never imagined.
But the story doesn’t end there. Jessie also shared a different need with this contact: a special $1,000 bike trailer for a coworker’s daughter who had experienced a brain bleed at birth. The company didn’t hesitate to help with that request, too, bringing about another beautiful moment. The mother of the child, Sarah, reached out with a heartfelt message of thanks:
“Please pass this on to our guardian angel: I hope you know how thankful our family is to you and your company. Our daughter has a lot of accommodations that make normal childhood activities challenging. The fact that you and your company chose to donate money to help families who have children with special needs is beyond beautiful.
Often, our wish lists remain a wish, but this last month got to be a true celebration. Our daughter, Esme, got to get in our new ‘big kid’ bike trailer and enjoy one of our family’s favorite pastimes: biking. Our family of four spent this past Saturday biking the Olentangy Trail. Esme was all smiles in her new bike trailer. For the first time ever, she got to sit arm and arm with her big brother—no chair or car seat wall dividing them. She even fell asleep on her brother’s shoulder, and Roan was ‘happy to be sissy’s pillow.’
Thank you for donating to individual families. I know it would be easier to donate one large charitable amount to a foundation, but instead, you chose to bless families like ours. Our family is so thankful for your generosity and your heart. Good people are sprinkled around this world; you are one of those people. Thank you again for blessing Esme and our entire family.”
Jessie says, “It’s hard to put into words how much this journey has meant to us. It wasn’t just about receiving a bed for Briggs or the bike trailer for Esme. It was about the ripple effect of kindness, one that touched not only our family but so many others. One act of generosity inspired another, and it continues to impact families in ways we could never have imagined.”
Right before Christmas, the donor’s secretary reached out once more inquiring if there were additional families in need. Jessie quickly got to work and identified eight more families who could benefit. Once again, the generous donor stepped up and purchased safety beds for them. In total, 18 beds (13 beds went to families with an SMS individual) have been purchased profoundly changing the lives of these families. To the anonymous donor who helped make this possible, thank you on behalf of the 18 families who were blessed by your kindness and unexpected generosity.
“We received Leo’s Safety Sleeper recently, and we were finally able to put it up. Leo loves it so much! This bed contains dense foam encased in fabric that wraps around the top and sides of the metal frame to protect against seizures and self-harming behaviors. All zippers extend over webbing to prevent any zipper head access from inside the bed. This will give us true peace of mind that Leo is safe and secure for the night’s rest.” – Yesenia Flores
Recipient Ginny Orenge said, “We are still figuring out how to use it best, but last night she only woke up for an hour and then went back to sleep! I look forward to seeing if we can sleep more than 2-4 hours a night!”
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