Sleep in Heavenly Peace crossed the 600 bed mark during a bed build on the Salem Elk’s Parking Lot Saturday morning.
President Kevin Rakers say the demand for beds for kids who don’t have one at home down has not diminished despite the large number of beds that have been made by the non-profit group. He reports an additional 32 beds were made Saturday with the help of Elks members and other volunteers.
“They are pretty close to being spoken for I think we have 40 on request right now and up to date we have delivered 555. So some of these will be utilized immediately.”
With the build on Saturday, 628 beds have been completed. The Salem group covers all of Marion and Clinton County and northern Jefferson County.
Two of those helping to sand the boards, Hank and Elizabeth Winchester who recently moved back to Salem, had come out to help because they received a bed for their child last week.
“It’s just a lot of ways to get help for food and things like this, but this is a one-of-a-kind ministry that we have never heard of and wanted to be a part of giving back.”
The bed build starts with lumber that is then cut and put together by the volunteers, ending with the branding of each bed with the SHP label.
Sleep in Heavenly Peace reaches the 600-bed mark!
All those who helped with the Saturday bed build pose together.
Marion County Fair Queen Maggie Telford works on sanding one of the boards for the beds. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
