Nonprofit that builds beds for children in need seeking donations, volunteers for upcoming event

Volunteers help build beds for children as a part of the Sleep in Heavenly Peace charity, date and location unspecified | Photo courtesy of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A charity that builds beds for children and families in need is hoping to round up additional donations and potential volunteers for their next bed assembly event Saturday in St. George.

Volunteers help build beds for children as a part of the Sleep in Heavenly Peace charity, date and location unspecified | Photo courtesy of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, St. George News

The local chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace is teaming up with SkyWest Airlines to build several bunk beds, chapter president Eric Mitchell told St. George News.

“We’re been in St. George going on two years,” Mitchell said. “We support our community with families with kids who don’t have beds. No kid should have to sleep on the floor.”

Since its formation, the local chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace has built and supplied 30 beds to local families with children in need, along with the sheets, mattresses and pillows to go along with those beds. This time around, Mitchell is hoping to build approximately 20 beds.

The construction is set to take place in the parking lot of SkyWest Airlines’ corporate headquarters at 444 S. River Road in St. George starting at 9 a.m. Saturday and carry through to 1 or 2 p.m. depending on how long it will take to build the beds.

The SkyWest location is subject to change, however, and may move to the Lowe’s parking lot across the street, Mitchell said.

The charity has over 240 chapters in the United States, Canada and beyond, and has provided nearly 60,500 beds to children between 2012 and 2020. An estimated 94,600 volunteers are involved in the charity.

Volunteers help build beds for children as a part of the Sleep in Heavenly Peace charity, date and location unspecified | Photo courtesy of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, St. George News

“I felt the urge to do something when I heard about this organization,” Mitchell said. This led to him contacting Sleep in Heavenly Peace directly and asking what he could do. That call would result in his starting a local chapter of the nonprofit in the St. George area.

While there already may be a good number of volunteers between the nonprofit and SkyWest employees, Mitchell said, individuals who wish to come out and learn more about the nonprofit’s mission are encouraged to do so.

“We may have enough volunteers, but if people want to show up, if there’s a necessity, we’ll put them to work,” he said.

Volunteers will build wood-framed bunk beds, with the nonprofit supplying the wood and tools. However, there is still a need for new mattresses and pillows that go along with the beds, which is why Mitchell is asking people to consider making a financial donation to the local chapter. This can be done through the Sleep in Heavenly Peace website under the “find my local chapter” tab.

Each bunk bed takes around $500 to build, Mitchell said.

Volunteers help build beds for children as a part of the Sleep in Heavenly Peace charity, date and location unspecified | Photo courtesy of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, St. George News

Those wishing to apply for a free bunk bed or twin bed for their children can also do so through the website.

Individuals or groups wanting to become involved locally with the nonprofit, sponsor a “chapter build day” such as SkyWest Airlines is doing this week or donate time and materials through volunteering and other means can visit the Sleep in Heavenly Peace website for additional details, or contact Mitchell directly at 435-414-5852.

According to the nonprofit’s website, Sleep in Heavenly Peace grew out of a project that started around Christmas time focused on providing a warm bed to a family in need during the cold winter season. With wood left over from the original project, a desire to build another bed for those in need took hold.

“A simple post on Facebook sparked an unexpected response,” the website states. “What was thought would be a litter of requests from needy families, turned into a litany of local people eager to help and volunteer. The generosity of these volunteers was so surprising that it was no longer a search for one who needed a bed, but a question of how many beds we could provide. From there, the idea grew into reality. We can make a difference.”

The Sleep in Heavenly Peace nonprofit became official in 2012 in Idaho and has since spread across the rest of the county and into parts of Canada, as well as Bermuda and the Bahamas.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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