Two years ago, I told my audience that for my 40th birthday, I’d love to provide 40 beds for 40 kids in foster care. Within a week, my garage was stacked with packages!

This September I’ll turn 42, and my wish is to provide a years’ worth of beds to Elijah’s Closet, so they can continue the important work of caring for kids here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Join me in making a difference in our neighbor’s lives.

August 1st kicks off my fundraising efforts! August 1-14, I’ll be donating $1.00 from every sale of Keep It Simple Y’all. All my profits from merchandise sales will be donated toward the cause. I am also pledging all income generated from my TikTok views, via the TikTok Creator Rewards Program, for the month of August.

Throughout the month, I’m also asking businesses to sponsor a bed, by pledging to order when the Amazon wishlist is published on September 1st. If your business would like to participate, print out this PDF, fill in what you are sponsoring, and display it proudly throughout the month of August! Have fun with it- take pictures or video and get creative. Tag me on social media @yourbarefootneighbor! I’d love to share your commitment with my audience. Most importantly, please email me at yourbarefootneighbor@outlook.com, so that I can track the number of beds pledged, and I can notify you when the list goes live and we can all place our orders!

These are the approximate prices of the items needed (this includes mattress, frame, pillows, and bedding):

Bunkbed: $575

Twin: $220

Full: $270

Toddler Bed: $180

Crib: $220

September 1st, the Amazon Wishlist goes live! I will be the first purchase, using the money raised during August to order as many beds as I can. The list will run until September 14th, or until we buy everything, whichever comes first. I will link the Wishlist here once it’s online.

When purchasing, select Matthew Bounds as the recipient and the items will ship to my local post office, where I will be picking them up with the help of Two Men and a Truck.

Who is Elijah’s Closet? They are a group of amazing volunteers, led by Nikki Williams, who share a passion for helping kids and families on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. When I first met Nikki two years ago, beds were their most needed item. Today, beds continue to be the most in-demand item Elijah’s Closet provides. Together, we’re going to alleviate that burden and expense for an entire year!

Read more about how Elijah’s Closet helps, who they help, and how you can get involved.

My friend Desarae over at Cooking Comedy Chaos has generously pledged $1.00 from each bag of her Legiterally seasoning to the cause, during the month of August!

This stuff is seriously SO good, y’all! It goes on just about everything.

Des, you’re a certified unicorn!!

Why commit to ordering off a list? Why not just ask for monetary donations? Listen, I would love to see everyone make a donation directly to EC; however, for this initiative, it is my goal to take the pressure off them by providing a supply of their most-requested item. This allows EC to have access to a bed at any given moment over the next year, without the expense or the wait time for shipment. I also don’t want to burden them with extra bookkeeping and accounting work, trying to keep donations separate and earmarked for Beds For a Year. This way, the items are ordered directly by the donor, and delivered directly to EC, with no middle man handling the funds.

Why an Amazon Wishlist? Why not just ask everyone to drop off items at their convenience? When organizing Beds For a Year, I deferred to EC’s expertise. They have been providing assistance to kids and families since 2017, and they know what works. Storage and transportation will be a concern with a fundraiser of this magnitude, so sticking to a list and having packages that are uniform in size will help with this. We also have to remember that social workers and families coming to pick these beds up may not have access to a truck or SUV. The supplies on this list will all be packaged in a way that can be handled by one person, and fit into most any vehicle.

Why 2,000? How did you arrive at that number? We reviewed historical data from Elijah’s Closet, and figured out that they’re on track to supply approximately 2,000 beds to kids on the Gulf Coast in 2024. We also reviewed which type of beds were supplied, and this is how we designated the number of bunk beds, cribs, etc.

Are you part of Elijah’s Closet? I am not. I simply appreciate what they do and have huge amount of admiration for their commitment to the community and to helping kids from all walks of life. I worked closely with EC while structuring Beds For a Year, to ensure that no part of this would create extra work for them, and that it would be a true help to their mission.

2,000 beds is a lot! How are you going to receive and store all this? Two Men and a Truck in Gulfport has graciously offered their services to help us pick up from the post office, and deliver to the climate controlled storage units in Biloxi, near Elijah’s Closet. I will need help with labor, so if you have any connection to a local sports team, military, or club that needs service hours, or just wants to help, please send them my way!

I want to help, but have more questions. Who do I get in touch with? Me! Email me at yourbarefootneighbor@outlook.com and I will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.