TAMPA, Fla. — The sanders sounded like a cloud of bees buzzing.
Dozens of sanders whirred over pine lumber planks behind a Tampa office complex. Volunteers gave up their Saturday morning to build beds.
“There’s a lot of kids who don’t have beds. It’s amazing,” Sleep in Heavenly Peace volunteer Liane Dare said while measuring boards of wood. “And the families are so incredibly appreciative when you bring them.”
Sleep in Heavenly Peace is a non-profit that builds beds for kids around the country. The Pinellas County chapter, run by president Jim Baker, has raised the funds for and built over 120 beds since forming in August 2018.
“It’s great team-building,” said Baker. “There’s no doubt there are thousands of kids just in Pinellas County who are not sleeping in a bed, just sleeping on the floor.”
Baker estimates there are upward of 3,000 kids without beds in both Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. Saturday was SHP Pinellas’ first corporate build. The group partnered with Vaco and 40 volunteers build 30 beds in three hours.
It takes $150 to purchase the wood and bedding to complete a single bed.
“It’s sad that there is a need,” said Baker.
Each bed was branded with a blazing hot branding iron. The ‘SHP’ logo was charred into the headboards of every bed.
“We like to know that we did a good job for them and our Heavenly Father is looking out for them,” said Tracey Livingston before stamping a bed. “We have 100 more requests already this year.”
The Pinellas chapter hopes to put 300 to 400 kids in beds this year.
“There is a sense of pride that we try to avoid,” said Baker. “It’s about the kids, putting them in beds.”
“It’s a big deal,” added Livingston. “I feel very blessed to be part of it.”
If you live in Pinellas County and need a bed, you can request one on the SHP Facebook page.
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