Black Sheep Donations

Jane Goodall Institute of Canada 

In 2022, we donated a King Latex Mattress Topper to the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada for a silent auction in celebration of Dr. Jane Goodall’s 88th birthday. 
The organization uses community-centred conservation to mobilize action on the convergence of three crises: biodiversity loss, climate change and environmental equity. As sustainability and environmental conservation has always been at the heart of Black Sheep’s business values (see our sustainability page for more about this), we were thrilled to be part of such a powerful organization’s story. This silent auction successfully raised over $72,000 to be put towards their programs to help people and animals alike. 

Raw Natural Material Donations

In the Spring of 2022, Black Sheep Mattress donated 205 pounds of our excess cotton batting to the Calgary and District Beekeepers Association, a non-profit organization promoting and encouraging good beekeeping practices in southern Alberta and Calgary.

Calgary & District Beekeepers Association

As you might know, bees are dying off at a horrible rate and with that come serious consequences to our ecosystem. Our cotton is a 100% natural, pre-consumer recycled product that has never been treated with any chemicals, insecticides or pesticides, and so makes for the perfect material to use for bumble bee nests, beehive insulation, and toxic free smoker fuel.

Man standing with bag of natural cotton batting, donation from Black Sheep Mattress to the Calgary Beekeepers Association

We are so grateful for the opportunity to contribute our materials to local beekeepers and play a smart part in helping to save the bees.

Mask Donations

What started as us trying to do our part to help our family and friends, led to a bigger community initiative once we realized the demand for masks during the pandemic. Our small team shifted from their regular production to creating high quality organic cotton masks. In the first year, we donated many masks to local organizations serving Calgary's more vulnerable populations and the frontline workers supporting them.

Organic Cotton Pleated Face Mask
To date, we've contributed mask donations to: 
  • Enviros - frontline social work programs for at-risk youth
  • Birth Unlimited - distributing masks to new and expectant mothers going through the birth process during this challenging time
  • The Alex Centre - to distribute to clients including impoverished Calgarians and homeless youth
  • Emma House - a non-profit dedicated to breaking the cycle of homelessness among pregnant women and youth
  • Calgary Seniors' Resource Society - an innovative organization that strives to keep seniors healthy, independent and safe in their homes as long as possible.
  • East Village Carya - providing a full spectrum of interactive counselling and development services for people of all ages — from babies to youth to older adults — and their support network.
  • And finally, a small number of mask donations have gone to a local business near and dear to our hearts - Urban Courier - our Calgary delivery service. This amazing team has been ensuring mattresses get to the people who need them during this challenging time.

Other Contributions

In 2021, we worked to support the Alberta Children’s Hospital's particular nurse ward for Nurse Week and the Libin Cardiovascular Institute.

In 2022, we donated to the 10th Annual Golden Kicking Horse Alpine Team Online Auction to support youth alpine skiing.

In 2023 and 2024, we donated mattresses to the YW Calgary YWhisper Gala Silent Auction.
In 2024, we donated pillows the the Calgary Public Library Foundation's LitGala.
In 2023 and 2024, we donated a duvet, blanket and pillows to One Broken Biker.
 
We hope to continue to support more organizations supporting causes we are passionate about!