Houston Store Owners Honor Hurricane Heroes with the Trip of Lifetime

Amber C. Strong
11-05-2017

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Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale is no stranger to Houston natives and now the rest of the country is getting to know him, too. 

With his catchy advertisements and three Gallery Furniture locations, the “Mattress Mack” has spent years building a relationship with members of the community.

During Hurricane Harvey, McIngvale opened the doors to his furniture store and turned it into a shelter for Houston residents and members of the National Guard.

In a video posted to Facebook, McIngvale invited anyone who needed a place to stay to stop by.

A picture of resting National Guard soldiers inside his Houston store went viral.

“My faith defines me. It’s who I am,” McIngvale told Religion News Service.

“How am I going to let my people drown? It’s as simple as that. I’m not going to let my people drown,” he continued.

After the storm, McIngvale continued to collect and distribute goods to the community. 

His generosity triggered others to do the same.

 

“The best thing about this whole tragedy is the people helping each other and putting all of the left-wing and right-wing politics aside and caring about people, not about politics,” he said.

Now, McIngvale is at it again.  This time he gave away an all-expenses paid trip to the World Series.

The business owner said he wanted to honor first-responders for their service.

“I consider the heroes of Hurricane Harvey to be the first responders who risked their lives almost 24/7 for an entire 2-3 weeks, “he told Fox and Friends.

“We were more than happy to charter a big plane and send about 30 first responders to the Astros games against the Dodgers in LA,” he continued.

He also gave away an estimated 10 million dollars’ worth of furniture to customers in a World Series wager titled Win It All, Get It All.  

McIngvale credits his faith for his generous nature.

"Like a lot of my customers said,‘It's just money. It's just stuff," he told Houston’s ABC 13. 

"The main thing is, we're still here. We can still make a positive difference. Let's move on," he continued.

 

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About The Author

Amber C.
Strong

Amber Strong joined the CBN News team in Washington, D.C., in 2014 as a producer and field producer. Currently, she works as a correspondent, producer, and backup anchor for "The Brody File." Her beat includes national politics and The White House. And while she loves her current backyard of Washington, D.C., she’s a Hoosier girl at heart. Amber lives and breathes all things entertainment and politics and has had the privilege of interviewing some of the biggest names in both industries, including late night host Jimmy Fallon and presidential contender Rick Santorum. However, her true love is
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