Mattress Firm, Inc., the nation's largest specialty mattress retailer today announced their partnership with Imagination Foundation as the Challenge America sponsor of The 2013 Global Cardboard Challenge. The Cardboard Challenge is a worldwide celebration of creativity during the month of September, where children are challenged to design and create using cardboard and recycled materials. The Challenge culminates around the world on October 5, 2013, on the global Day of Play.

Inspired by the short film, "Caine's Arcade," the Cardboard Challenge is an international celebration of child creativity and the role communities can play in fostering it. The first Global Cardboard Challenge took place in October 2012, with over 270 events organized by volunteers in 41 countries on six continents - from school districts in Texas to an Eco-Art Park in Uganda, to a community Warehouse Project in Sri Lanka. The 2013 Global Cardboard Challenge is expected to engage 1 million children from 70 countries.

As the Challenge America sponsor, Mattress Firm will play a significant role in helping the Imagination Foundation reach this goal. Additionally, Mattress Firm will be donating cardboard and collecting markers, crayons, scissors, tape, glue and other craft supplies at more than 1,100 locations across the country. The company will then be delivering the supplies to schools, community groups and other local organizations that want to participate.

"We showed the Caine's Arcade film at our national sales conference last year and were overwhelmed with the response from our employees," said Steve Stagner, president and CEO of Mattress Firm. "We see our sponsorship of the Cardboard Challenge as another way we can further inspire and connect with the communities where we do business. We also see it as an opportunity to discuss the important role that sleep plays in supporting health and fostering creativity in children."

"We are honored that Mattress Firm has embraced the Caine's Arcade story," said Nirvan Mullick, Founder of the Imagination Foundation and the filmmaker of "Caine's Arcade." "By becoming the Challenge America sponsor of the Cardboard Challenge, Mattress Firm has stepped up in a big way to help make creativity a core social value in communities all over America."

If you would like to request Cardboard Challenge supplies from Mattress Firm, please visit www.mattressfirm.com/play to apply.

For more information on the Cardboard Challenge, please visit www.imagination.in/cardboard_challenge.

About Mattress Firm

Houston-based Mattress Firm (NASDAQ: MFRM) is a high growth specialty retailer, recognized as one of the nation's largest specialty bedding companies, offering a broad selection of both traditional and specialty mattresses, bedding accessories and related products from leading manufacturers. With more than 1000 stores across 28 states, Mattress Firm has the largest geographic footprint in the United States among mattress specialty retailers. Mattress Firm offers customers comfortable store environments, guarantees on price, comfort and service, and highly-trained sales professionals. More information at www.mattressfirm.com.

About Imagination Foundation

The mission of the Imagination Foundation is to find, foster and fund creativity and entrepreneurship in children around the world to raise a new generation of innovators and problem solvers who have the tools they need to build the world they imagine.

The Imagination Foundation is growing a worldwide movement to promote creativity as a core social value and a critical skill for the 21st Century. To fuel this movement, they tell inspirational stories of creative children, produce large-scale events, campaigns and challenges, and provide teachers, parents and communities everywhere with the knowledge, tools and inspiration they need to develop child creativity. The Global Cardboard Challenge is their hallmark program to engage 1 million children in 70 countries in creative play.

For more information about Caine's Arcade and the Imagination Foundation, visit www.imagination.is. Follow them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/imagination and like them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/imaginationfoundation.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Sunni Goodman, sunni.goodman@mattressfirm.com, 713-343-3579
Sari Martin, sari.martin@icrinc.com, 646-277-1256