From left, Kendra Berlin, Nancy Hillman and Dan Crane promote the mission of Sleep in Heavenly Peace at Ottawa County Community Day on May 3. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

BY SHERI TRUSTY

A newly built bed, complete with new bedding, is delivered to a child’s bedroom. (Submitted photo)

OAK HARBOR – When Jim and Kendra Berlin wanted to form an Oak Harbor chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) to provide beds for local children in need, they were told by SHP headquarters that chapters are required to deliver 20 beds a year. Kendra thought there could be 20 kids in Ottawa County who needed beds, and an SHP rep told her she was going to be surprised at how many kids in need they would find. She was.

Since hosting the first bed build in 2022, the Oak Harbor chapter of SHP has built 215 beds and delivered 191 beds with over 575 volunteers investing over 3,000 volunteer hours.

“We thought we’d get 20 kids off the floor, but the bedlessness is astounding,” Kendra said. “You don’t realize how many kids need beds in Ottawa County.”

SHP is an international organization that builds wooden beds and donates them to local children in need. The kids also receive new mattresses, pillows and bedding.

Across Ottawa County, children are sleeping on floors, on couches, and anywhere else they can find a spot to curl up.

“We gave a bed to one kid who was sleeping on clothes in a closet,” said SHP Fundraising Manager Nancy Hillman.

Dan Crane of Crane’s Mattress thought he was getting out of the bedding field when he retired, but then he heard about SHP and now he spends his time volunteering to make beds for kids.

“The most memorable moment for me was when we delivered four beds for a family on Christmas Eve. They had beds to sleep in for Christmas. I can’t think of a better way to spend my Christmas Eve,” Crane said.

The volunteers thought they were simply giving children a safe and comfortable place to sleep, but they discovered they are often opening a new way of life for the kids.

Three Oak Harbor High School foreign exchange students coordinated an SHP build on April 28. Ten beds were built. (Submitted photo)

“Two brothers were sharing a mattress on the floor, and we built bunkbeds for them,” Kendra said. “The first thing one of the boys said was, ‘Now I can invite my friends over.’ We’re meeting their social needs. We didn’t think about that. There’s all this secondhand joy that comes from helping these kids.”

Because of SHP, children around Ottawa County are off the floor and on their own beds tonight.

“A bed is something kids can take ownership of,” Kendra said. “They can call it their own and feel safe.”