Kristy Payne is not one to sit still. She’s passionately driven and excels at recognizing needs and creating solutions. A realtor for more than 25 years, Payne has always been active in her community, but as the founder and president of Fostering Sweet Dreams she has impacted children in need throughout the state. Fostering Sweet Dreams, an Edmond-based nonprofit, provides tangible items such as beds, bedding, car seats, high chairs and strollers to any vulnerable child in need, including kinship and traditional foster-care placements. As former foster parents and current adoptive parents, she and her husband know firsthand the challenges facing Oklahoma’s most vulnerable children — and with the support of her family and community, Payne has set out to help children in need have a good night’s sleep.
MetroFamily’s Community Leader series highlights prominent community leaders across various sectors in Oklahoma City. Focused on topics pertinent to parents and families, each installment provides insights and perspectives from those shaping our community.
Fostering Sweet Dreams is unique in that you primarily focus on providing beds and bedding. How did your organization begin?
Fostering Sweet Dreams began nine years ago from a combination of events. We had been foster parents before adopting two of our children — making us a family of six — and while we closed our home to fostering, I still wanted to be involved in helping foster kids. I knew there was a need for beds and, through my work in real estate, I often had people offering me furniture. There were several resources providing diapers, formula and clothing for vulnerable children, but for the big items — like beds and dressers — there wasn’t really anyone meeting that need.
We started off without a budget and only in-kind donations, but over the years we’ve continued to grow and have received several supportive grants. I could never have accomplished this on my own. It’s been an amazing effort from so many supportive community members to make this dream possible.
On a personal note, why did you decide to become foster parents and how has it changed your life?
My husband and I had our first two biological children fairly young and one day I saw a news story about a baby being abandoned on the side of the road. I thought, I want to care for that baby. I didn’t get that particular child, of course, but it started my process of learning about fostering and how there was a great need for foster parents. My husband was supportive and our kids were on board — so about six months later, we picked up a baby boy that we later adopted. We cared for a few other children before receiving and eventually adopting our daughter. Today, they’re 19 and 15.
Even though you take the classes and hear the stories, you really don’t know what it’s like to care for a vulnerable child until you’re in the middle of it. It’s not all fun and we’ve definitely had challenging times, but when I take a step back and look at the whole picture, it’s been amazing. We would do it all over again, even with the hard times, because it’s worth it. We’ve grown our family and I love it.
Who does Fostering Sweet Dreams serve?
Through our work with several different organizations, we’ve served 68 of the 77 counties in Oklahoma and even helped a family in Arkansas. We typically impact 90 to 100 children a month — so that’s nearly 100 beds and 100 sets of sheets, comforters and pillows being delivered throughout the state. We’re mostly funded by grants that allow us to purchase many new items, but our in-kind donations — gently used items that people donate — help supplement our inventory.
How does a bed and bedding impact a child’s life?
I believe getting a good night’s sleep helps build a strong foundation for our physical and mental health. If a child isn’t able to get good rest, they’ll be less likely to perform well at school and focus on their education. I think most people aren’t aware that so many children in our own communities don’t have a bed to sleep in. There are so many different situations where a family may find themselves in need of beds and it brings us so much joy to take a child from sleeping on the floor to sleeping in their own bed.
What are some of the challenges involved in your work?
Transportation is our greatest challenge. Many families may have a vehicle, but not one that can haul a bed or furniture, and often the case workers we work with drive a small fleet vehicle. When you’re transporting a bed, you have to consider the size and whether tie downs are needed, so we always try to provide measurements and plan accordingly. New beds are easier to move because they’re already in a box and all of the parts are packaged together. In the future, it would be wonderful to have a few trucks or other appropriate transportation regularly available for our clients.
Looking ahead, what goals do you have for Fostering Sweet Dreams?
I would love for Fostering Sweet Dreams to remain sustainable for generations to come. One way we can achieve that is through purchasing a building to serve as a warehouse. Having a permanent location, along with full-time staff, are long-term goals that would enable us to reach more kids. Also, we were previously able to do room makeovers and I would love to see us be able to do those again and gift that experience to children.
In what ways can community members get involved with Fostering Sweet Dreams?
We couldn’t do what we do without the support from within our community. On our website we list specific ways for people to help. We always have an updated list of our most needed items as well as an Amazon wishlist for people to easily purchase from. We also provide a volunteer application and donation opportunities through our monthly giving program. In addition, we host a wonderful fundraising event called ‘A Night in the Clouds’ that’s scheduled for Oct. 5.
We’ve also really benefited from groups hosting bedding drives to gather bedding set donations. When we give a child a bed, we try to provide a bedding set that they will like — whether it’s unicorns or race cars, etc. It’s a way to personalize the experience for them and help make it extra special.
Payne was named the 2024 Prosperity Bank Woman of the Year by the Edmond Chamber of Commerce for all of her accomplishments and impact with Fostering Sweet Dreams.
