ROCHESTER — On Tuesday, Dec. 3, an NFL star helped herald in a sizable donation to the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in Rochester: more than 60 new mattresses and bed frames.
The Giving Tuesday gift, valued at $240,000, from Sleep Number replaces about half the beds in the guest lodge, where cancer patients and their caregivers stay during treatment and recovery.
Assisting Sleep Number employees with delivering the new beds was Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones. He said he feels the importance of sleep, particularly in disease recovery, is overlooked.
“I feel like that’s the biggest form of recovery,” Jones said. “If you’re able to get comfortable in your bed, adjust your bed to different settings to your liking, it’ll do a lot for you.”
Sleep Number and the American Cancer Society have been partners since 2020, said Anthony Bass, vice president of the American Cancer Society in Minnesota. Not only will the beds benefit the cancer patients resting and recovering at the lodge, he said, but they also play a role in
gathering data
to see how sleep quality affects cancer recovery outcomes.
Dené K. Dryden / Post Bulletin
“Now, our residents will be able to have the luxury of staying in quality Sleep Number beds that we believe, in a long scientific study, will be able to help speed their recovery,” Bass said.
As Sleep Number traded out old beds for new ones, Jones made an appearance in the lodge’s dining room, where guests were having pizza for lunch. Jones signed autographs and took photos with several guests.
Lodge also staff surprised Jones with a birthday cake, as he turned 30 the day before.
Each year, Hope Lodge guests collectively spend 39,000 nights in the Rochester lodge’s 62 guest rooms, Bass said.
“The average stay is about 14 days, and so imagine having to get treatment for 14 days and find a hotel,” Bass said. “What we do is we offset all the costs; we take care of people’s living arrangements as well as food while they’re here.”
Dené K. Dryden / Post Bulletin
Dené K. Dryden / Post Bulletin
Dené K. Dryden / Post Bulletin
Dené K. Dryden / Post Bulletin
Dené K. Dryden / Post Bulletin
