Local Family Volunteers to Build Beds for Children in Need

PROSPER, Texas —The Johnson Family, residents of Prosper for the last decade, recently dedicated their Saturday to building twenty beds with the help of the Sleep in Heavenly Peace(SHP) nonprofit and JustServe.

SHP, a national charity organization, is on a mission to ensure every child has a bed to sleep in at night. But that mission can’t happen without donations and, more importantly, volunteers to build beds.

“I have a little brother who is 8,” said Jocelyn, the Johnson family’s oldest daughter, about why she chose this organization for their family’s service project. “It just kind of broke my heart whenever I thought about little kids who maybe didn’t have a comfortable place to sleep. To think of someone having to go through that — it helped me want to serve.”

Local families and organizations can volunteer to build, assemble, and deliver skillfully engineered bunk beds to children and families in need.

“It was really cool that we got to learn how to put the beds together and how fast and quick we were able to do it,” said Jesse, the Johnson’s oldest son.

“We fully believe that a bed is a basic need for the proper physical, emotional, and mental support that a child needs,” says the SHP website. “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. That’s where Sleep in Heavenly Peace comes in.”

Even little hands can do big work.

“I really liked making the slats for the beds. I put down the yellow ropes on the wood so they can staple it down,” said the Johnsons’ 8-year-old son, Clayton. “We can be kind to others, and we can help other people.”

“We found this activity on JustServe.org. We looked under Sleep in Heavenly Peace, and we looked to see when their next community bed build day was and joined them.”

Angela Johnson

“We found this activity on JustServe.org,” said Angela Johnson, the family matriarch. “We looked under Sleep in Heavenly Peace, and we looked to see when their next community bed build day was and joined them. They offer community bed builds a couple of times a year when organizations donate money to make beds, but they don’t have the time or resources to make the beds themselves. Anyone can sign up on the link as long as you agree to the waivers.”

Microsoft sponsored this particular community build, which took three hours to assemble twenty beds. Each bed requires a $250 donation to build. This includes the bedframe itself, a mattress, bedding, and a pillow.

Those interested in receiving a bed from Sleep in Heavenly Peace must apply to enter the queue on their website. SHP then conducts a background check and establishes the need. 

For more information on this and other service opportunities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, visit JustServe.org.