Hometown Clinton - Fall 2016

Good News Travels Fast
Great News
Travels Faster...
Mary Ann Kirby
School had not started yet and we were constantly
looking for ways to stay entertained. I’m sure there are
plenty of parents that can relate. So when my husband
announced that his company was doing a promotion in
Dallas, the location of which just happened to be the
AT&T Stadium, and that my son and I could go if we
wanted, we jumped on it. We could just drive out to
meet him since he would already be there. He works
for one of the big national mattress companies and
travels all over the country.
We really didn’t know what all the trip would
entail, but on a Thursday afternoon, my 13-year old
and I headed from Jackson to Dallas–by ourselves.
It was six hours of non-stop talking and laughing–
and if we didn’t do anything else, the trip was worth it
for that reason, alone.
We stopped at Buc-ee’s, the Texas-owned Disney
World of “travel centers”, and bought drinks and snacks.
We had already checked to make sure it would be on
our route. It’s a 60,000 square-foot roadside-refuge
that’s as much a tourist attraction as anything else.
There are 84 gas pumps, mega-aisles of various snack
mixes and candies, Texas-themed home accessories,
Buc-ee’s clothing, and an entire wall of beverage
fountains. They’re probably best known for their
bathrooms–the cleanest in the industry, they claim.
We took the obligatory photo with the big bronze beaver
mascot out front, popped it up on Facebook with the
caption, “Because Texas….”, and headed on our way.
The next day, after killing several hours around the
Dallas area, we headed to the stadium. I’ve never been
on an NFL football field and was in awe of the massive
venue the Dallas Cowboys call home. There’s a jumbotron
hanging overhead that’s wider than most houses. It’s
actually the 24th largest hi-definition video screen in
the world and spans from one 20-yard line to the other.
Upon entering the field, we were given our
volunteer t-shirts and ushered to where 100 twin beds
were set up–complete with Dallas Cowboy bed linens,
pillows, teddy bears, footballs, and promotional swag.
We were told that 100 kids and their parents or
guardians were already in the building getting a tour.
The field would be their last stop and would soon
become home for one great big sleepover. Ranging in
ages from 5 to 12, these children, through a monthslong
application and vetting process, were found to be
in-need–and particularly in need of beds.
I started taking pictures with my phone. I got
close-ups of the teddy bears holding footballs and of
the beds, themselves, lined up like soldiers on the field.
I could hear the drumline playing outside of the locker
room and knew that it was getting close to time for the
kids to enter the arena.
I scrolled through my photos, created a quick
collage, and decided to post it to Facebook before the
kiddos got there. The caption read, “. . . 100 kids will be
coming to AT&T Stadium for a giant sleepover. Little do
they know they get to keep their beds. These kids don’t
have beds of their own . . . and now they will. I’ll be the
one standing off to the side, bawling.” I posted it and
took my position as they headed our way.
Everyone was wide-eyed and cheering as those
kids ran full-steam onto the field, led by one of the
football players, along with Rowdy, the team mascot.
Each was rushed to their own bed awaiting them with
their name on it.
I started taking more pictures; pictures of kids
hugging their new teddy bears, pictures of kids throwing
their new footballs, wearing their new hats with big
blue Cowboy stars on them, and bouncing on their new
beds–and I quickly added them to Facebook, too.
There’s no way those kids could have realized how their
lives were about to change. They had just been given
the gift of a good night’s sleep–if not that night, then
certainly for nights soon to come.
After a couple of hours of dancing with cheerleaders,
lots of running and throwing, hula-hoop wars and pizza
eating, it was time for the movie to start–to be shown
on the enormous screen above. The kids made their
way into the stands with their popcorn–some carrying
their new teddy
bears and others
dragging their
Cowboy blankets
behind them. The
lights dimmed and
Finding Nemo began
to play–one of my
all-time favorites.
It was already late by then. I hated to leave
knowing that I was in the midst of something so
special, especially with the movie just starting. But I
wasn’t particularly interested in sleeping on the field
in a sleeping bag either, so we loaded up and headed
back to the hotel. It was around 11 p.m., and I checked
Facebook for the first time since making my posts.
One post had been shared almost 400 times. The
other related posts were picking up steam, too. I stayed
up a couple of hours longer that night just watching all
the shares and likes grow.
Shares were at 2,500 the next
morning and over 5,000 by the
time I got out of the shower, just
thirty-minutes later. They had grown
to 15,000 by lunch and were at 30,000 by mid-day.
I had never seen anything like it–especially from such
close proximity.
By Sunday, shares were nearing 90,000 and it was
clear that it wasn’t slowing. It had gone viral–and all I
could do was watch.
One post has been shared over 150,000 times on
my Facebook page alone–and is still growing! It’s been
shared another several-hundred thousand times on other
pages and been featured on countless news sites
including The Houston Chronicle, AOL.com, Fox News
and The Huffington Post. It’s been on Love What Matters,
Good News Network, Little Things, Do Something.org,
and Reddit. The promotion was talked about on K-Love
and Fox Sports along with numerous radio and
television outlets and, by any estimation, has easily
touched millions of people.
I have to admit, I’ve had an incredible time watching
this phenomenon unfold. It’s been surreal, to say the
least. Ironically, I’ve spent my entire adult-life in the
marketing and media industry but could never have
predicted this. And truth be known, there’s no way to
predict how people will react anyway–especially in the
realm of social media. But I can tell you this; people like
good news! And beyond that, it all boils down to good
timing–and good old-fashioned luck. Lightening in a
bottle, as they say.
The Dallas Cowboys Organization, Tempur+Sealy
International and Ashley Furniture HomeStore DFW
gave those kids an ultimate sleepover and the experience
of a lifetime. One little girl said it was the best night of
her life. She also went on to say she had never had her
own bed before–or a teddy bear. God bless her.
The program is called Hope to Dream and they
have donated over 40,000 beds to children across the
nation and around the world. And now, because of the
generosity of these companies, another hundred kids in
Dallas can sleep a little better, too. Amen to that. ✭
30 • Aug/Sept/Oct 2016 Hometown Clinton • 31