From a hometown build in Trenton to custom cleats on an NFL field, San Francisco 49ers safety Ji’Ayir Brown is helping SHP make sure more kids have a bed of their own.

When Ji’Ayir Brown picked up a sander at his old high school in Trenton, N.J. this summer, it was the start of something big. What began as a hometown Community Bed Build has grown into a multi-year partnership between Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) and the Ji’Ayir Brown Foundation (JBF).

This fall, that partnership includes a second build in the Bay Area, custom cleats for the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats campaign, and a new role for Ji’Ayir as SHP’s Bunkhead Club Ambassador. Behind all of it is one promise: NO KID SLEEPS ON THE FLOOR IN OUR TOWN!®

It Started at Home: Trenton, July 14

On Tuesday, July 14, Ji’Ayir came home. Seventy volunteers gathered at Trenton Central High School, his alma mater, for a Community Bed Build hosted by SHP-NJ, Morris County and the Ji’Ayir Brown Foundation. Together they turned raw lumber into 24 beds for Trenton kids.

Ji’Ayir worked the stations alongside volunteers of every skill level, sanding boards with SHP CEO and Executive Director Jordan Allen and fire-branding the SHP logo onto a headboard. Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora stopped by to join the effort.

“This is my city,” Ji’Ayir said. “Trenton made me before the NFL ever did, and I don’t take that for granted.”

Growing up in an underserved area of Trenton, Ji’Ayir Brown witnessed firsthand the challenges many children and families in his community face. Now he’s paying that support forward, joining Sleep in Heavenly Peace to help end child bedlessness in his hometown, because a bed of their own gives young people the rest, recovery, and dignity they need to thrive, no matter their circumstances.

Ji’Ayir has been honored with a key to the city, and he returns every summer to work with Trenton Central High School football players. “Football taught me discipline. But it starts with rest, with having a safe place to lay your head,” he said. “If I can help make sure a kid in my hometown has that, that’s a win bigger than anything I’ve done on the field.”

That same day, Ji’Ayir joined SHP volunteers to deliver two of the new beds, complete with mattresses, pillows and bedding, to local families. Inside one home, he and Jordan assembled a bed frame together. Moments later, a young girl was sitting on her brand-new bed, unicorn comforter and all, laughing with an NFL safety.
“Ji’Ayir Brown grew up right here in Trenton, and now he’s using his platform to make sure the kids coming up behind him have what they need to dream big, literally,” Jordan said.

For SHP-NJ, Morris Co, the build added to a fast-growing record. “We delivered our very first bed in August of 2024,” Chapter President Sarah Fulton said in July. “Since then, we’ve built and delivered over 500 beds for New Jersey kids.”

The build was the centerpiece of Ji’Ayir Brown Week of Service, which also included the EOTA Foundation Football Skills Clinic on July 11 and MT3’s Family Fun Day on July 19. The story reached well beyond Trenton, with coverage from News 12 New Jersey and national pickup on MSN and iHeart. When SHP celebrated its 400,000th bed this fall, Ji’Ayir’s Trenton delivery was part of the milestone video.

Bringing It to the Bay: Oct. 28

Three months later, Ji’Ayir brought that same energy to the Bay Area. On Wednesday, Oct. 28, SHP and the Ji’Ayir Brown Foundation hosted a Community Bed Build with the SHP-CA, San Jose chapter at Lowe’s of Sunnyvale, about four miles from Levi’s Stadium.

42 volunteers from the Ji’Ayir Brown Foundation, Knights of Columbus, Lowe’s Red Vest associates, and chapter volunteers worked alongside SHP’s National Build Team and Ji’Ayir himself. Together they built 20 beds for children on the local waitlist, each to be delivered with a new mattress, pillow and bedding.

My Cause My Cleats: Nov. 29

Each season, the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats campaign lets players wear custom cleats for a cause close to their hearts. This year, Ji’Ayir is representing Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

His cleats are being co-designed to represent both SHP and the Ji’Ayir Brown Foundation, and he’ll wear them when the 49ers host the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 29 at Levi’s Stadium. These cleats stand for hope, dignity and dreams – the positivity and comfort that come from having a bed of your own.

Game day puts child bedlessness in front of millions of fans. The goal is to turn that moment into lasting support for kids, and that’s where the Bunkhead Club comes in.

My Cause My Cleats: Nov. 29

Each season, the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats campaign lets players wear custom cleats for a cause close to their hearts. This year, Ji’Ayir is representing Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

His cleats are being co-designed to represent both SHP and the Ji’Ayir Brown Foundation, and he’ll wear them when the 49ers host the Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 29 at Levi’s Stadium. These cleats stand for hope, dignity and dreams – the positivity and comfort that come from having a bed of your own.

Game day puts child bedlessness in front of millions of fans. The goal is to turn that moment into lasting support for kids, and that’s where the Bunkhead Club comes in.

Ji’Ayir Brown, Bunkhead Club Ambassador

Ji’Ayir also serves as SHP’s Bunkhead Club Ambassador. The Bunkhead Club is SHP’s monthly giving community: members give $20 or more each month to help chapters keep building and delivering beds all year long. Build days create moments. Monthly giving creates momentum.

Follow along as SHP shares stories from Ji’Ayir’s build days, deliveries and game days, and as Ji’Ayir shares them with his own fans.

SHP has delivered more than 400,000 beds since it began in founder Luke Mickelson’s garage in Kimberly, Idaho, in 2012, and it dedicates over 95% of its total expenditures to charitable programs.

You don’t have to be an athlete to make a play for kids.

Just Getting Started

From his old high school in Trenton to a Lowe’s in Sunnyvale to the field on Nov. 29, Ji’Ayir is showing a new audience what it means to show up for kids. And this is just the beginning: SHP and the Ji’Ayir Brown Foundation are already planning a return to Trenton in July 2027.

As a safety, Ji’Ayir’s job on the field is to protect. Off the field, he’s helping protect a child’s rest, safety and room to dream.

Here’s how you can join him

• Join the Bunkhead Club. Give monthly at bunkhead.club.
• Find a chapter near you. Volunteer, donate or start a chapter at shpbeds.org.
• Follow along. Watch for Ji’Ayir’s cleat reveal and build-day stories on SHP’s social channels.

NO KID SLEEPS ON THE FLOOR IN OUR TOWN!®