Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
NORTH WEBSTER - Kiwanians from North Webster, Milford and Syracuse joined with other volunteers Saturday morning at the North Webster Lions’ Mermaid Festival grounds to build beds for Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP).
SHP is a nonprofit dedicated to building, assembling and delivering single and bunk twin beds to children and families in need.
Garet Becker, Lakeland Kiwanis of North Webster, said, “We found out about Sleep in Heavenly Peace through the Kosciusko County’s chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace. We know that there’s an estimated 2,000 kids in our county that currently don’t sleep in their own bed at night. They’re either sleeping on the floor, sleeping on the couch, sleeping with another relative or sibling, and this is an opportunity to help these kids sleep in their own bed because we know that statistics show that if kids can sleep in their own bed, they’re going to do better in school, they’re just going to do better overall.”
He said the North Webster Kiwanis Club found out about SHP and decided to partner with Kiwanis of Syracuse and the Kiwanis Club of Milford. “So the three communities and our clubs came together to do the build with Sleep in Heavenly Peace today here.”
Planning began in August, Becker said, so the weather was uncertain for Saturday. Generally, the bed building takes place outdoors because of all the dust. While Saturday morning was a little chilly, the weather was good enough for the bed building to take place indoors and outdoors.
“We knew that with the cooperation of the Lions Club, we had the opportunity to use their building and the grounds here that we could possibly do it inside or do it outside,” Becker said.
Getting volunteers was not difficult.
“It’s just been a true blessing to see how the community has come together,” he stated. “We have, obviously, the Kiwanis Clubs. We have people coming from as far as other counties, other states to be a part of this. Along with the Key Club at (Wawasee) High School. So, no, it has not been hard to get volunteers. We’ve got well over 120 volunteers here today that want to make a difference in the lives of kids in our county.”
There was something for all of the volunteers to do. Becker said if a volunteer got tired of doing one thing, they could switch off to another station.
“Kiwanis is a global organization. We’re volunteers dedicated to improving the lives of children in our communities. So whether it’s Riley Hospital in Indianapolis or its kids right here in our own backyard, we’re here to serve kids and community, and I know that partners well with Sleep in Heavenly Peace,” Becker stated.
Becky Kiphart, SHP Kosciusko County Chapter co-president, said since the county chapter of SHP started in April 2024, they’ve had 26 builds.
The hope for Saturday’s build was 50 beds would be built, which would put the total number of beds built through the local chapter of SHP at 868.
“We just delivered number 530 since we started, and we got two more applications yesterday. They just continually come in. We are to the point where we can deliver pretty quickly when they come in - like maybe between a week or two out, but it’s a continual need,” she said.
They’re just providing beds for children in Kosciusko County right now.
“The national average is 3% of the population (need beds) - which could mean 2,000 kids to start with - so we’re just whittling away at that,” Kiphart said.
Mike Webb, SHP Kosciusko County Chapter co-president, said, “2,400 kids just in Kosciusko County could potentially need beds, either (because they’re) sleeping on the floor or with a sibling or with a parent. They don’t have their own bed.”
He said the Kiwanis contacted SHP and wanted to hear a presentation on the nonprofit organization. All three clubs got together to sponsor one build.
As of about 10 a.m. Saturday, Kiphart said there 106 volunteers at that point. The build went from 8 a.m. to noon.
“We need to get the word out that we have beds available and if people need them, they need to apply for them,” Webb stated. “Just go to shpbeds.org/apply.”
If anyone wants to financially donate to SHP, Kiphart said they can do that through the website at shpbeds.org and look for the Kosciusko County chapter.
“We take money donations, or if you’d ever like to donate twin bedding of any kind - mattress covers, comforters, sheets - we accept those, too, as long as they’re new,” she said.
Webb said the cost of putting together one bed is about $250, including the frame, mattress and all the bedding.
“We’ve gotten it down thanks to a lot of community help. We can keep it at a very good cost,” Kiphart said.
Webb said they also have a bunkhead program that if people want to donate monthly - a minimum of $20 - to SHP, they can do that. If they donate for a year, they potentially buy one bed for a child.
Saturday’s build in North Webster was the last one for 2025. Webb said they normally don’t build in the winter because of the weather and don’t like to build inside because of the dust.
“But we’re open to doing inside builds and we have facilities that have been offered to us to do it inside,” he said.
Builds will probably start back up in March 2026, Webb estimated. Anyone who wants to volunteer for those can watch the website for announcements, as well as SHP’s social media and news sites.
“We’re just very thankful for everybody here today. All the donors - we had over 30 donors for today alone to get this done. So very thankful to community,” Kiphart said.
