SUAMICO (NBC 26) — Nearly three percent of American children don't have a bed, according to data collected by organizations like Sleep in Heavenly Peace.
Volunteers come together in Suamico on Wednesday nights to build twin beds, but they're asking you to help make a difference.
"We provide beds for kids in the local area who don't have a bed of their own to sleep on. Any kids - ages 3 to 17 - if they don't have a bed, we're there to provide one for them," De Pere Sleep in Heavenly Peace Co-President Dan Vermeulen said.
Vermeulen said he decided to bring the non-profit group to Northeast Wisconsin after his wife died in 2015.
Vermeulen says he has always valued volunteering, and their group first started with 265 donated beds in their first year. They have a goal of building and donating more than 800 beds to children in need this year.
"When you pull up in front of a house, and there's four little faces plastered in the front window, looking at you and waiting for you to come in with their bed. That makes your day," Vermeulen said.
Vermeulen says he loves when volunteers build the beds on Wednesday nights, but he thinks the best part is dropping them off.
"Yeah, absolutely! When you can see the kids get their own bed, a lot of times we'll have little boys and girls that are 8, 9 years old grab a drill and put their own bed together. There's nothing like that in the world," Vermeulen said.
He says you can always donate time or money, but now they have a greater need for new or handmade twin bedding that will certainly make a difference in a child's life.
"We've had some jump up and down for joy. We did a 12-year-old girl, and she got the first bed of her life. She was sleeping on an air mattress with her mom and her 3-year-old brother, and we supplied them both with beds," Vermeulen said.
Organizers say you can help by dropping off new or handmade twin-size bedding this Saturday at two different locations.
Those spots include Great Harvest Bread at 802 George Street in De Pere and the Sleep in Heavenly Peace workshop at 2132 East Deerfield Avenue Unit 204 in Suamico.
That's 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday.
