Helping Children in Need Sleep Better
All children deserve a safe, comfortable place to lay their heads. In Idaho and across the US, too many boys and girls go without a bed—or even a pillow—to sleep on. These children end up sleeping on couches, blankets, and even floors. This can affect their happiness and health.
That’s where Sleep in Heavenly Peace comes in. We’re a group of volunteers dedicated to building, assembling and delivering top-notch bunk beds to children and families in need. Our organization has grown steadily over time, and we’re working on opening more chapters in different states to serve more people.
How We Started
Sleep in Heavenly Peace had its start like many other charities, in a garage. It was Christmas time, a time of joy and happiness, a time of giving and love, but also a time of bitter, cold weather and snowstorms. A project, that was started with the build of one bed for a single family developed into something a whole lot more. With wood left over from the first bunk, another idea was created. “Who else could benefit from this bunk”?
A simple post on Facebook sparked an unexpected response. 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.
Continued Expansion
We continue to grow and with that growth we’ve expanded to Canada. SHP Canada began with providing beds to a single mom we found on Kijiji in November 2018. She had just fled an abusive relationship and had nothing with which to set up her new home. She and her three daughters were all sleeping on the floor. One of our contacts heard about the help we were giving this family and suggested we check out Sleep in Heavenly Peace, an American charity that builds and provides beds to children who don’t have a bed of their own. Their mission aligned with ours and we applied to attend the Chapter President Training in March 2019 in Twin Falls, Idaho. With support from SHP founder, Luke Mickelson, and his team, we were able to start building our first beds in May 2019. Our team of dedicated community of volunteers and donors, which includes individuals, school shop classes, and many local businesses, has now built hundreds of beds and is sharing joy by giving Canadian children safe, warm beds.
SHP is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Our federal ID is 46-4346568 in the United States.
We are a registered Canadian Charity. Our Reg number is 784917874RR0001 in Canada.
What We Believe
So many great charities provide clothing, meals, and toys to families in need. But as wonderful as this aid is, few organizations offer suitable beds and bedding to the kids in these families.
At SHP, we fully believe that a bed is a basic need for the proper physical, emotional, and mental support that a child needs. When it was brought to our attention that the need for beds went far beyond our own neighborhoods, we stepped up and took initiative. We’re a national organization answering the call to a national problem.
If a child needs a bed, we want to make sure they get one. No kid sleeps on the floor in our town.