How Hot Coffee Became a Cool Memorial Day Mattress Sale

What began as a casual conversation and a weekly coffee gathering among friends grew into something far greater — Verlo’s Pay It Forward Memorial Day Sale, created to honor military families and support the children of fallen soldiers through donations to Camp Hometown Heroes.

It all started when Mary Plemons, Verlo’s Vice President of Operations, shared with CEO Chris Nolte that her husband, Jack, regularly joins a group of veterans — many of them from World War II — for coffee every Thursday morning at a local restaurant. Though Jack isn’t a veteran himself, as a retired IT professional, he enjoys offering the group technical support for their computers and cell phones. (He even tells a great story about teaching them how to text.)

As Mary described the incredible military stories these veterans shared, she and Chris reflected on how meaningful it would be to preserve and share them. That conversation sparked an idea: film the veterans’ stories in honor of Memorial Day.

Mary reached out to see if any of the veterans would be interested in participating, and six of them — true to their brave and generous spirit — agreed. Soon after, Verlo’s Chief Marketing Executive, Scott Baitinger, and a film crew visited Verlo’s new Wauwatosa, WI store to record their stories.

Each veteran shared heartfelt memories and reflections that were both powerful and deeply human. Their stories are now being featured individually on Verlo’s Facebook page over a two-week period alongside the Memorial Day Mattress Sale.

But the initiative didn’t stop there.

The Verlo team wanted to do more than simply share these stories — they wanted to give back. Rather than allocating thousands of dollars to traditional TV and radio advertising, Verlo decided to dedicate that portion of the marketing budget to support a charitable cause for military families.

After some research, the team discovered Camp Hometown Heroes, a weeklong overnight summer camp for children who have lost a loved one in military service. The camp gives kids a safe, understanding place to connect with others who share their experience and to process their feelings with the help of pediatric grief counselors.

Once Verlo learned about the camp’s mission, the choice was clear.

Thus, Verlo’s Pay It Forward Memorial Day Sale was born. For every mattress sold during the event, a portion of the proceeds is donated to Camp Hometown Heroes. In addition, Verlo donates $1 for every Like and Share the veteran story videos receive on Facebook. Special coupons were also created to make it easier for customers to participate while saving on their purchase.

The goal: to raise $20,000 — enough to send 20 kids to camp.