At Texas Mattress Makers, we are proud to be a part of this community and we love to help others whenever we can. When we were invited by the Houston East End Chamber of Commerce (EECOC) to help support higher education for East End high school students, we knew we had to get involved.
Youval Meicler, our company President, originally came to this country with nothing but the clothes he wore on his back. His career began with sweeping a factory floor, a path which eventually led to the establishment of Noah’s Manufacturing Inc., Texas Mattress Makers, and recently, Living Designs Furniture. The opportunity to help one of our very own EaDo neighbors achieve their dreams through their own hard work is a cause very close to his heart. He believes that education is the first stepping stone to helping the children and young adults in our community flourish.
On April 27th, 2016 at the 4th Annual Education Symposium, we were able to learn so much more about the needs of our community. We are proud to have awarded a $10,000 scholarship to Belen Mendoza, one of the twenty-five high school students to receive a scholarship. We are also excited to participate in the EECOC mentorship program. Rachael Gordon, one of our very own Texas Mattress Makers team members, will be able to follow up with Belen and provide mentorship whenever she needs guidance.
After meeting and getting to know Belen better, we could not be more excited to see her develop and realize her full potential. She is currently a student at our local Stephen F. Austin High School and an intern in the IT department at Kinder Morgan, a unique opportunity which was offered to her due to her advanced skills. She has already been accepted to several colleges and has chosen to study at the University of Houston in order to remain close to family and retain her internship. In the top quarter of her class, Belen is very dedicated to her schoolwork and is actively involved in several extra-curricular activities including the National Honor Society, Academic Achievers Program, and the Science National Honor Society to name a few. She is the type of person who always maintains a positive outlook and tries to help others as much as possible, no matter what type of day she is having.
We took a moment to catch up with Belen to see how the school year was wrapping up for her. According to Belen, this scholarship will help ease her mind on the financial aspects of school so she can focus more on her studies. “My family and I are still shocked at this unbelievable chance!” she gushed, “I know that with their help and mentorship program, I WILL be successful, and will be able to eventually pay it forward!”
We look forward to seeing what the future holds for Belen and the other students in our community. If you would like to learn more about how you can get involved in helping the students in our community, please visit the Houston East End Chamber of Commerce website.