Thousands of Kids Have 'A Place to Dream' Thanks to Record-Breaking Furniture Bank Event

Dean Todd, Stacey Todd, Cinde Matocha, Gary Matocha
HUNDREDS OF GUESTS packed River Oaks Country Club for The Furniture Bank's annual fundraising event. They hit the ballroom floor to ensure no kid sleeps on the floor!
Emcee Linda Lorelle introduced the "A Place to Dream" video documenting the efforts of founder Oli Mohammed and city leaders to give furniture to Houston families in need. The evening's honorees included Youval Meicler of Texas Mattress Makers, and the late Ralph Marek, whose son Stan graciously accepted the award.
A live auction led by Johnny Bravo got the crowd excited, and musician Doug Montgomery kept the energy high all the way through dessert and coffee. A record-breaking $300,000 was raised for The Furniture Bank, which has since 2018 provided beds to more than 4,000 children in need.
Aaron and Jessica Glick
Syed and Kelsey Iman
Ben Marek, Neha Dubey
Stan Marek and Regina Rogers
Bob Gulitti, Lisa Gulitti
Oli Mohammed, Jeff Cummins, Harry Cummins
Kevin Gilliard and Frank Billingsley
Michele and Youval Meicler
Mike and Francie Willis
Laura Barnett, Daniel Cavazos
John Parsley, Mike Holland, Stan Marek, Brent Ballard