MENASHA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Two organizations in the Fox Valley teamed up Friday to build dozens of beds for children in need.
Sure-Dry is working with the Appleton chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) — a nationwide profit that provides beds for kids who would otherwise be forced to sleep on the floor or couch each night — to deliver hand-made, fully-furnished beds to children in the Fox Valley.
Jamie Budiac, Sure-Dry general manager, explained to FOX 11 how the partnership came to fruition.
“Back in April, we were out in Omaha, Nebraska for a conference and out there, one of our suppliers named Supportworks challenged all of their dealers to do a national bed build day today, July 12. And so we absolutely stepped up to the plate and thought this was going to be a great opportunity for us to give back to our community, which is one of the core values of our company,” Budiac said.
About 75 Sure-Dry employees and 10 SHP volunteers spent the day Friday working together to build the bed frames. Budiac said the goal was to construct at least 50 frames.
Chris Uitenbroek, co-president of SHP’s Appleton chapter, said they have delivered approximately 400 beds since their inception two years ago. SHP services children between the ages of 3 and 17 in the Appleton-Menasha area and surrounding communities.
“There’s no prequalification except for they don’t have a bed. Once we get the application back, then we deliver the beds. We take all the pieces — mattress, sheets, comforter, pillow. The whole works gets put in our bus and we deliver it with a delivery team and the bed gets set up right on scene for the kid,” Uitenbroek said. “We have everything ready for them to go to bed at night in their own bed.”
SHP says bedlessness is “a national crisis that causes serious issues in children and teenagers, such as hyperactivity, anxiety and depression, in addition to an overall worsening of health.”
Budiac said Supportworks dealers across North America participated in Friday’s program, aiming to build more than 700 total beds.
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