Ep. 44: Tom Gaghan on giving hope

If you want to give a child sweet dreams, give a child a bed.

Tom Gaghan has given beds to 8, 500 children who once slept on the floor or a couch or a chair in the living room.

As executive director of the Cleveland Furniture Bank, Tom has made it his mission to provide beds for kids.

He spent 31 years working for Cleveland Electric Illuminating and was shocked the day he was let go with all his possessions in one box. After he was downsized when CEI merged with FirstEnergy, he lost half of his I.R.A. in a stock market slide.

Tom found a new career and helped launch the Cleveland Furniture Bank, which restores hope to people who need basic home furnishings, like couches, chairs, tables and dressers.

Find out how to give hope and turn a house into a home.

Tips & Takeaways:

  • A house with no furniture isn’t a home.

  • It’s hard to tuck in a child who has no bed.

  • Children who age out of foster care have nothing and need help to start a home.

  • Give children a bed and they sleep better and do better at school the next day.

  • Instead of getting gifts for your birthday or holidays, ask your friends and family to donate a bed for a child.

Bio:

Thomas Gaghan grew up in Warren, Pa., a small town about 60 miles east of Erie.  He came to Cleveland to attend Cleveland State University and graduated with a BBA in 1967.  He went to West Virginia University and obtained a Master in Industrial Relations.  After graduation, he returned to Cleveland and joined CEI (Cleveland Electric Illuminating) in Human Resources. 

There, he spent 15 years managing employment, training and safety and then was transferred to field operations to manage construction and maintenance activities.  He remained in operations for the next 16 years culminating in Director of Operations for all service activities in Cuyahoga County.  At the time of the merger that created FirstEnergy, he was downsized. 

After a short time of not working, Tom joined a large retailer as an Assistant Store Manager.  After a little more than a year, he was offered a position as Development Director for St. Vincent DePaul Society of the Cleveland Diocese.  About a year later, he helped create the Cleveland Furniture Bank as a separate non-profit under the umbrella of SVDP. Tom was given the responsibility of managing the Furniture Bank.  Two years later SVDP closed down temporarily and the Furniture Bank moved forward on its own.

The Beds for Kids program was created at the request of many of the agencies that were assisting families with children.  CFB could always provide a bed to the parent(s) but not for the children who were left sleeping in less than ideal conditions. 

CFB didn’t want to give used beds to the children, so it located a local manufacturer who could provide a new bed and mattress at a reasonable cost.  With the help of some local foundations and corporations, CFB started the program. 

The program runs on donations from individuals and corporations.  In eight years the program has given away over 8,500 beds. 

Website and Links:

To donate furniture and schedule a pickup go to Cleveland Furniture Bank.

To make a financial donation for beds, go to Beds for Kids

Regina Brett