POPLAR BLUFF, Missouri (KFVS) – 150 needy children will soon have a comfortable place to sleep thanks to a Heartland nonprofit and a record number of volunteers who pitched in.
Sleep in Heavenly Peace builds beds to distribute free of charge to children in the area.
Due to high demand, they had to stop accepting applications months ago.
David Elledge, president of the chapter, said a community effort on Saturday, August 10, helped get them back on track.
“We have spent the last few months working towards the big build last Saturday, which was a big focus for us,” said Elledge
The months of preparation were worth it.
Elledge said 150 volunteers came to the Black River Collesium on Saturday, ready to roll up their sleeves and build some beds.
“Normally on a normal build we have about 30 to 30 people, on a big one maybe 40. And having almost 200 volunteers was great,” Elledge said.
Steve Keith is the Build Director of Sleep in Heavenly Peace.
“Seventy-five percent of the people there were first-timers, meaning they had never done it before,” Keith said.
He said he was looking forward to seeing some new faces on Saturday.
“It was incredible to see all these new people. I’ve never done that before. It’s always nice to see our community helping out,” Keith said.
All beds made over the weekend can now be delivered to the children’s homes.
Elledge said they could use your help.
“We’re going to put it on our Facebook page and have people sign up to come and deliver beds. Then we’re hoping that, like eating an elephant, we can just get a little bit of time and try to get some work by delivering all these beds,” Elledge said.
You can register here on the SPH Facebook page or here on their website.
And Elledge said they will continue to work toward their ultimate goal: “No child in our city sleeps on the floor.”
“We know it’s vital for them to get a good night’s sleep, and we try to provide them with a place to do that,” Elledge said.
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