SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Hundreds of students gathered in Syracuse University’s Skybarn to build beds for children in the community.
“They'll be sanding. They'll be assembling. They'll be drilling,” said Kevin Dudash, co-president of Sleep in Heavenly Peace’s Syracuse chapter. “When we take these back to our shop, we will dip them so that they look finished, and then they'll be ready to go.”
Nearly half of all Syracuse children are impoverished.
Sleep in Heavenly Peace’s mission is to make sure no kid sleeps on the floor. That goal is challenging considering Syracuse hosts the highest child poverty rate in the country, according to the latest U.S. Census data.
“Forty-five percent of the community is in a poverty situation,” Dudash noted. “Many of these kids are sleeping on the floor, a pile of clothes, or co-sharing a bed with a parent or siblings.”
Student Impact
Friday’s bed-building event marked the second straight year the Syracuse University Volunteer Organization has partnered with Sleep in Heavenly Peace. The volunteers were able to make a total of 88 beds, which doubled their output from last year.
“It's a very well oiled machine and we supply the students,” said Clarie Ceccoli, president of Syracuse University Volunteer Organization. “They supply the wood, so we're able to make such a good impact. I'm so grateful to really be a part of this organization.”
One of the students volunteering was Sean Wilkerson, a senior at Syracuse. He helped build the beds on Friday, after delivering them the year before and seeing firsthand the children who had been surviving without a proper place to sleep.
“When you have a bad day or even when it's cold outside,” Wilkerson shared, “you don't even realize how thankful you are just to crawl in your bed." Simple privileges were not lost on him, “Realizing that there are kids 10-15 minutes away, sleeping without a bed can be quite eye opening.”
On Saturdays, the latest bed supply heads out to the children. Ceccoli said they could use more volunteers to help deliver all of the newly made beds. To donate, volunteer, or apply for a bed, visit shpbeds.org.
