UTICA, N.Y. (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) – On Thursday, June 23rd, National Grid and the ‘Sleep in Heavenly Peace’ Foundation joined forces to build beds for local children in need.
In Utica, 30 National Grid workers participated alongside 10 ‘Sleep in Heavenly Peace’ Foundation volunteers with the original goal of building 30 beds, surpassed creating a total of 53 beds that will be going to local children starting next week.
“I’m glad to know that the ‘Sleep in Heavenly Peace Foundation’ has partnered with us and next week there will be 53 fewer kids sleeping on the floor.” – Gwendolyn Sanders, Community Manager Customer Engagement of Mohawk Valley National Grid
Sanders says National Grid donated $200K for the event and that it took about 2 months to plan. Regionally known as Project C, there were four different builds happening simultaneously in Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, and Albany which included 175 National Grid volunteers and resulted in 125 beds being built for children across the state.
‘Sleep in Heavenly Peace’ Chapter President, Stephen Sperbeck explained that there is a great need for these beds with local families. In the 10 months since the Utica Chapter opened, Sperbeck says they have delivered 405 beds, but still have a backlog of around 150 requests. He says that working with National Grid and other local organizations like New York State Child Protective Services and ICAN is something they will continue to do in the future. All the materials for this event were purchased locally from Lowes at a discounted rate.
Starting next week, beds will be delivered, complete with a mattress, pillows, and bedding materials to 53 kids throughout Oneida and lower Herkimer County.
“Helping the community and kids so they don’t have to sleep on the floor. This is what volunteering is all about.” – Stephen Sperbeck, Chapter President Sleep in Heavenly Peace
‘Sleep in Heavenly Peace’ Foundation services all of Oneida County and the lower half of Herkimer County. Anyone interested in applying for a free bed for their child aged 3-17 can visit their website at shp.org.
