MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 4, 2006--Six families who have been staying at Ronald McDonald Houses(R) across the country will soon have their dreams come true, as winners of Select Comfort's "Dream for a Family" contest, held to celebrate the company's fifth anniversary as the Official Bed Provider for Ronald McDonald House Charities(R).

All of the families selected have children who are struggling with serious or life-threatening illnesses, including congenital heart defects, leukemia, organ transplants and multiple surgeries and have been staying at the Ronald McDonald Houses while their children undergo extensive care at nearby hospitals.

Dreams being fulfilled range from arranging for an adoption to reunite siblings, to covering the cost of dental insurance for a family that goes without, to a trip to Disneyland for one family whose father suffered a paralyzing accident and whose daughter continues to need numerous corrective surgeries. In addition to fulfilling their specified dreams, Select Comfort will replace the families' current beds in their home with SLEEP NUMBER(R) beds.

"While we can't prevent children from becoming seriously ill, we can help families gather strength from a better night's sleep to cope with the stress of caring for a child who is struggling," says Doug Collier, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Select Comfort. "By fulfilling the dreams of these six families, we hope to give to them what they've postponed while caring for their sick child."

Since Select Comfort became the Official Bed Provider for Ronald McDonald House Charities in 2001, the company has donated more than 3,700 Sleep Number beds to the 156 Ronald McDonald Houses in the U.S. In addition to the beds, Select Comfort, along with its employees and vendor partners, has donated more than 5,500 employee volunteer hours and $640,000 in contributions from employee payroll deductions, retail promotions and other fundraising activities. The total value of these goods, services and cash contributions exceeds $3.2 million.

Making Families' Dreams Come True

Select Comfort invited families residing at Ronald McDonald Houses during the month of March to submit essays describing the dreams they wished to have fulfilled. The six families were chosen out of more than 250 entries. The recipients, along with excerpts from their essays, are as follows:

"Dream for a Family" Recipients

Carol and Scott Bauman living at the Fort Worth, Texas, house and from Norman, Okla., who recently adopted two brothers from Guatemala, one who has Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome:

"Our family's dream is to fulfill a wish we made when our son Mason blew out his first birthday candle. On his birthday we discovered that his big sister has been put up for adoption... We'd like to travel to Guatemala as a family to bring Esperanza home. In English, Esperanza means 'hope.' What dream could be more worthy than one that promises love to a child named Hope?"

Phillip and Jennifer Kleiner living at the Akron, Ohio, house and from Canton, Ohio, who have lost one income and dental insurance to create time to care for their daughterwith leukemia.

"Our dream would be to have all of our dental work completed... Our daughter was diagnosed with AML-M4 (acute myelomonocytic leukemia) on Christmas 2005. She has been hospitalized almost constantly since her diagnosis... The long-term loss of an income and dental insurance will make it nearly impossible for us to get our dental work done. Our children have suffered...and they deserve to have beautiful smiles."

Karen Stapp living at the Palo Alto, Calif., house and from Dawsonville, Calif., whose daughter Callie was born with a life-threatening congenital heart defect.

"Since Callie was born...her brother, Noah (4), and sister, Cosette (2), have been housebound with me as I struggle constantly to keep Callie stable... Our household has revolved around keeping Callie alive. Noah and Cosette have had to feel the brunt of that. Because we cannot go anywhere, it is my family's dream to have a play area and a fence for our yard... somewhere where our whole family can have fun."

Tim, Susan, Riley and Reagan Wilson living at the Akron, Ohio, house and from Canfield, Ohio. Father Tim suffered a paralyzing accident, and daughter Reagan has needed numerous surgeries on her small intestines.

"(Callie) is diagnosed now with Short Bowel Syndrome. Not only is this a big obstacle, but my husband Tim had an accident last summer and is now paralyzed from the waist down. Our only dreams are to live an easier, more normal life, which would include a standing wheelchair for my husband so that he can do more things with the kids (not to mention the health benefits), and also the kids would love to go to Disneyland."

Dyland Hartung from Australia, who has been living at the Ronald McDonald House in New York for 15 months and likely will be for at least another year.

"Dylan's wish/dream is to have his grandmother come and visit him from Australia. He misses her so much and when he found out that our attempts to fundraise her airfare failed, he was devastated..."

The Jones family living at the Omaha, Neb., house and from Rexburg, Idaho, including 15-year-old Corinna who has received multiple organ transplants.

"There are 11 of us... The children range in age from 10 months to, 19 years. Mom and Corinna have spent much time at the Ronald McDonald House in Omaha over the last 11 years... When (Corinna) was four her small intestine twisted and killed itself. In 2002 she had a liver, bowel, pancreas transplant... So our dream? We would love to have a remodeled kitchen big enough that our whole family can sit down around the table together comfortably. We start saving to do this again and again, but somehow our money always ends up paying medical bills."

Other Dreams for a Family Facts

Out of the 252 dreams submitted by families staying at Ronald McDonald Houses, 30% (77) were in need of a new home, home maintenance or landscaping, 27% (68) were dreaming of a vacation, and 14% were in need of new transportation. Other dreams included the need for financial help and meeting a favorite celebrity.

The Ronald McDonald House Story

Ronald McDonald House was created through the leadership of Fred Hill, a former Philadelphia Eagles player, and his wife, Fran, who grew tired of sleeping on hospital furniture while their young daughter received leukemia treatments.

Each House is run by a local nonprofit organization comprised of members of the medical community, business and civic leaders, parents/volunteers and McDonald's owners/operators. Families staying at Ronald McDonald House are asked to make a donation ranging from $5 to $20 per day; if that is not possible, their stay is free.

Nationwide, the average stay is approximately eighteen days, and since 1974 the program has helped more than three million family members. For more information, visit www.rmhc.org.

About Select Comfort

Founded in 1987, Select Comfort Corporation is the nation's leading bed retailer(1), holding 32 U.S. issued or pending patents for its personalized sleep products. The company designs, manufactures and markets a line of adjustable-firmness mattresses featuring air-chamber technology, branded the Sleep Number bed, as well as foundations and sleep accessories. SELECT COMFORT(R) products are sold through its more than 400 retail stores located nationwide; through selected bedding retailers; through its national direct marketing operations; and on the Internet at www.selectcomfort.com.

(1) Top 25 Bedding Retailers, Furniture Today, May 23, 2005.

Copyright Business Wire 2006

Select Comfort

Select Comfort

More from Select Comfort