Embedded Files
Building Beds with SHP
Building Beds with SHP
Inside look at Sleep In Heavenly Peace
Inside look at Sleep In Heavenly Peace
For the past two years, Badin High School has teamed up with the local non-profit organization Sleep in Heavenly Peace to serve and give back to the community.
This year, on Dec. 7, many Badin students, staff, and extended family members arrived at Matandy Steel to join the cause and help decrease the number of kids sleeping on the floor this Christmas.
Eileen Watkins, mother of Sophomore Ryleigh Clemmons, and her husband Mike started this charity the summer of 2018. They saw an opportunity to serve a need in the community, and they had the resources.
“This is a national organization and we wanted to start a chapter because we knew that there was a need here and we knew it was just something easy that we could do to help kids that don’t have beds,” Watkins said.
At times, the work could be grueling and very tiring, especially when it came to sanding the wood. However, the teamwork was relentless and everyone pulled together to produce an outstanding number of 70 beds. The best part about this day was the community effort.
“So even today we had probably a hundred people come together to help build beds for kids, you know, for other kids, so it’s kids serving kids,” Watkins commented.
This organization has a very big impact on the community. Nobody wants to sleep on the floor, and thanks to SHP, the number of kids put in this situation grows less and less each day.
Sophomore Ashley Waggoner who participated in Badin’s Action Day for the first time this year shared how her experience made her feel.
“Not only do I get to help people, but also, you get to bond with people that you don't know as well,” Waggoner said.
This chance to be able to give her time and talent to help others has stuck with her and will likely lead her to continue to volunteer with SHP in the future.
“I like that it helps kids and everyone gets a fair chance to get a bed,” Waggoner said.
Even though Badin Action Day only occurs once a year, SHP continues working to deliver beds and happiness to kids year round.
“The fact that we could get this many people together to make a huge impact, it’s awesome. If we’ve built 70 beds, which I think we have, we’ve reached 1,000 beds which to me is like a substantial number. I mean, that’s a significant difference in the community,” Watkins remarked.
Students, parents and faculty gathered at Matandy Steel on Dec. 7 to build beds for underprivileged children in Hamilton through the organization Sleep in Heavenly Peace.
Sleep in Heavenly Peace is a nonprofit that builds beds for children that don’t have one to sleep in every night. After the materials are made groups of people go to the homes and assemble the beds.
“We saw a video on Facebook called Returning the Favor highlighting the organization. We were touched by the idea of providing children in need with beds so we decided to start a chapter in Butler County,” said Eilleen, founder of the Butler County chapter.
In Butler County, Sleep in Heavenly Peace has grown in number of volunteers and beds made. Each build day provides more and more kids with a place to sleep.
“We had our first Build Day in June of 2018. We built 70 more beds at the Badin Build Day this past weekend which put us at 1000 beds since we started,” said Eileen.
Senior Ella Pohlen was a participant at the Badin build day. She went with a team of people to deliver the beds to get a deeper look into what Sleep In Heavenly Peace is all about.
“It’s one thing to make the pieces for the beds, but another to have the child actually repeatedly thank you for bringing them a bed,” said Pohlen.
The organization makes sure the kids not only receive a bed but all the accessories that come with it to make it their own.
“We make the bed look really nice with the comforter, blanket and pillow. We also try to give each child a stuffed animal and a bible. They feel special. They feel loved and know that someone cares about them. Some of these kids have never had their own bed before,” Said Eileen.
Sleep in Heavenly Peace is a great way to get involved and help your community. Students can sign up to volunteer for Build Days on Innerview or talk to Mrs. Halverson if interested in delivering the beds to the children.
Page updated
Report abuse