A good night’s sleep (or the lack of one) can have an impact on children’s well-being as well as their academic achievement. For children from two Gwinnett elementary schools and families in Florida still recovering from Hurricane Michael, a good night’s sleep is possible and more comfortable, thanks to the generosity of more than 300 volunteers and the business community.
On Oct. 26, staff and families from Baggett ES and Lilburn ES, community volunteers, Lowe’s Home Improvement, and the non-profit, Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP), teamed up to build more than 100 bunk beds for local families and hurricane victims in Florida.
The community project came together after SHP delivered four beds to a Baggett family, says Dr. Charlotte Sadler, Baggett ES principal. Knowing that others in the community could benefit and that school staff and students wanted to give back to the community, the idea for a school-sponsored “bed build” was born.
“A small idea to build a few beds for our students sleeping on the floor quickly developed into several sequential events bringing a wider community together and allowing us the opportunity to impact hundreds of lives instead,” says Amber Fisher, a counselor at Baggett ES who served as point person for the volunteer effort with SHP.
On Build Day, volunteers worked, assembly-line style, at various stations— sawing, sanding, drilling, assembling, staining the wooden pieces, and branding each bed with the SHP logo. What starts as a pile of raw lumber becomes a ready-to-deliver bunks for kids in need!
A total of 101 bunk beds were built at the event. Of those, 60 bunk beds will be shipped to families in Tallahassee, while the remainder will stay in our community— most for Baggett and Lilburn students and their siblings. Each bed will be distributed ready for a good night’s sleep, fully equipped with a new mattress, linens, a comforter, and pillow. Families from the two schools raised funds to cover the costs of the bedding.
Ms. Fisher says the project couldn’t have been successful without the guidance from SHP, generous donations and corporate sponsorship, and a small army of volunteers. Lowe’s donated $25,000 for the project and provided lunch and water for the volunteers. A total of 301 volunteers pitched in, including families, staff members, Lowe’s employees, and volunteers from other metro Atlanta counties and Florida. Volunteers included friends, family, and students of all ages, college down to elementary, says Ms. Fisher. “There was a job for everyone, even the really little ones.”
Joseph, a Baggett 1st grader, was able to do small jobs around the work site and tried his hand at various tasks with his dad's help. He said he was excited to be volunteering with his family and seeing his teachers at the project. When asked about his experience, Joseph said “It was fun and I helped build 101 beds. I stained woods, cleaned up all the excess, and burned with fire [branding the wood with the SHP logo], and played in the gym."
Another student volunteer, a Baggett 5th grader named Jada, found the project to be rewarding. "The bed build made me feel happy because we were getting kids off the floor and into a bed," she said.
For all the volunteers, no matter their age, Build Day was a special opportunity to serve the community. “People want to do good but sometimes we don’t always know where to start,” says Ms. Fisher who praised the bed-building non-profit organization that brought together partners for the project. “We saw a need in our community and instead of sitting on the sidelines, we are doing something about it. It was a community coming together for a common purpose. There are no words to describe it, simply emotions.”
About Sleep in Heavenly Peace: No Kid Sleeps on the Floor in Our Town!
Sleep in Heavenly Peace is a non-profit organization that specializes in building beds for families in need, with the goal of helping children who sleep each night on the floor (or couch) to get a bed of their own and a good night’s sleep. SHP estimates that up to 2.2 million U.S. children sleep on the floor every night. Battling “child bedlessness” takes a communitywide effort in communities across the country.Chapters for the volunteer organization are active in Gwinnett and Atlanta and several other areas in the state. More than 150 chapters exist around the U.S. (Click on these links to donate to SHP, get involved as a volunteer, or request a free bunk bed for your child or a child who you know is in need.)