Sleep In Heavenly Peace Bed Build
The Prior Lake Rotary Club’s district grant involved 290 volunteers who worked 936 hours to successfully build 142 beds for young people who do not have a bed. Some highlights of the process are that we had 7 Rotary Clubs financing the grant and helping build the beds. We also had community support from the Prior Lake Lions Club, the Prior Lake-Savage Optimists, and the Laker Education Foundation. Partnering outside of Rotary clubs was instrumental in our success. Another attractive part of the project is that it is hands-on; we get to see the fruits of our labor and money immediately.
Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) has an amazing assembly line process to cut the lumber, sand every board, drill in the holes needed for the hardware, attach metal plates to make the beds sturdy and to stain each board. In addition, we helped provide bedding by asking volunteers and their group members to donate bedding or cash. We supplied well over half the linens needed for the 142 beds. All of this was accomplished in 4 shifts of about 2 1/2 hours.
The beds we built were already spoken for and many were delivered the same day. Some kids have been waiting since January. Each bed comes complete with age-appropriate sheets, pillows, pillowcases and blankets. The delivery crew goes to the family's home and puts the bed together while they all watch. The young person from ages 3-16 can sleep in their new bed immediately. Many of these kids have never had a bed of their own.
Total project budget $32,700
District 5960 DDF $12,000
Rotary Clubs $14,700
Others $ 6,000
