SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE
A local nonprofit builds and distributes beds for Brazos County children
Story and Photography By ELLEN RITSCHER SACKET
Joel Hammond and George Nelson are co-presidents of Sleep in Heavenly Peace TX-College Station .
“
It was just like Christmas ,” says
Joel Hammond , the soft-spoken founder of the TX-College Station chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace . His eyes light up as he remembers the first time he helped deliver beds to a low-income family . “ When we pulled up , the children came out of the house literally doing somersaults to greet us !” he recalls . The volunteers arrived that day with all they needed to assemble four twin beds . They also brought brand new mattresses and sheets , blankets , and pillows loaded in bins in the back of the truck .
“ The children were so excited , and they wanted to help carry the materials in the house ,” Joel says . “ They wanted to help while we were putting the beds together , and the girls were opening the packaging just like it was Christmas presents !” When the volunteers left a few hours later , they felt assured that those children would have a comfortable place to sleep that night and that SHP ’ s donation had made a difference .
36 November / December 2021
“ Even in adults , [ we ’ re ] learning more and more about how important good sleep is ,” Joel says . “ It affects every cell in your body when you lose sleep .” He lists how children can suffer when they don ’ t have enough good quality , deep sleep for long periods of time : lack of concentration , behavioral issues , low self-esteem . " And then there ' s just the kindness — what it would be like sleeping on the floor during the winter freeze that we had or trying to get comfortable on the couch when a lot of us didn ' t have a lot of good heating ," he says .
Joel helped start the local chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace last February , with Andy York , executive director of BCS Habitat for Humanity , who offered its warehouse for builds , and HOH board member , George Nelson , who now serves as a chapter copresident alongside Joel . The three men became the chapter ’ s core team and trained in San Antonio last March . They learned all aspects of how to run the chapter and came back home ready to build beds . They were almost immediately inundated with requests , usually from households that needed
A volunteer brands a bedframe with the SHP logo . two . To date , the chapter has built approximately 60 beds and aims to construct 16 beds a month to meet the demand , Joel says . “ The only requirement [ to qualify ] is that [ recipients ] be age 3 through 17 and not have a bed ,” he explains .
The TX-College Station chapter got off the ground quickly , and the demand for beds grew faster than its ability to make them . A number of individuals and organizations stepped up to help , including I Heart to Help — a recent subset of the year-old nonprofit , I Heart Bryan . I Heart to Help brought 15 volunteers for its collaboration with SHP in September , says Mekail Faquir , I Heart Bryan ’ s director of volunteer services and I Heart to Help ’ s head of initiatives . “ We ’ re behind the scenes ,” according to Mekail , whose organization matches volunteers with partner nonprofits . “ We want to be able to get to the point where people enjoy doing the builds , doing the deliveries , know the system , and want to keep coming back ,” he says and adds , “ A good night ’ s sleep goes a long way . It takes a good sturdy bed to be the foundation for that .”
On designated build days , the volunteers , who can be as young as age 12 with adult supervision , start with raw lumber and learn to build beds in an assembly line setup for sawing , sanding , drilling , and assembling . They are guided by build manager Keith Peters and experienced members of the SHP team . The last step involves staining the bed frame , but not before the headboard is stamped with the SHP logo using a hot branding iron . “ It ’ s kind of a treat for volunteers to do it ,” Joel says .
On delivery days , the SHP crew loads up a trailer with everything needed to put together the beds at recipients ’ homes , arranged