Steve Westfall discusses the construction process for building a bed for Sleep in Heavenly Peace Saturday morning at the Blennerhasset Museum of Regional History. (Photo by Gwen Sour)

PARKERSBURG – When Jackson County Commissioner Steve Westfall, now chapter president, first heard about Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) during his time in the West Virginia Legislature, he didn’t expect the idea would one day take root at home.

After learning how the national nonprofit builds and delivers beds to children who don’t have one, he helped launch the Jackson County chapter – and watched it grow faster than anyone imagined and shared the success at Blennerhassett Museum of Regional History to a small crowd, Saturday morning.

The national organization began in 2012 when its Idaho founder, Luke Mickelson, built beds for neighborhood children who were sleeping on the floor. SHP has since expanded to more than 400 chapters nationwide. Westfall and Vice President Amy Ditto completed a three-day SHP training in Salt Lake City earlier this year. Westfall said SHP covered their airfare and lodging before the chapter had even raised a dollar.

“It got in her blood, and it got in my blood,” he said.

The chapter initially struggled to find a location to store tools and lumber until a rotary club member offered the use of her barn for free.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace provides bedding, alongside building bed frames, and is constantly seeking donations of linens. (Photo by Gwen Sour)

“There’s no heat, but it works perfectly,” Westfall said.

Volunteers set up saws, sanding stations and assembly tables throughout the space. A local gravel company donated stone for the driveway, and a porta-potty company provided a unit for $100 for the entire year after learning about the program.

Inside the barn, volunteers move through a full assembly line – cutting, sanding, drilling, staining with a vinegar-and-steel-wool solution believed to deter bedbugs, and branding each headboard with the SHP logo.

“We usually make 20 to 25 beds at a build,” Westfall said. “We had 72 volunteers at our largest one – too many, really – but everyone just took turns.”

A donated storage container now holds completed frames until deliveries are scheduled.

Each child receives a full bed set: a frame, a mattress, sheets, a comforter, a pillow and, increasingly, a handmade quilt from local quilting groups in Ravenswood and around the county. The chapter delivered its first bed over Labor Day. As of this week, volunteers have delivered more than 50 beds, with another 14 scheduled next week. Requests come through an online application that does not consider income.

“We don’t care what you make — zero or whatever,” Westfall said. “If a child needs a bed, they get a bed.”

Some deliveries are emotional. Westfall recalled a 9-year-old girl who said the new bed she received in Ripley was the first bed she had ever had.

“You never think that’s out there until you see it,” he said.

Most children the group helps are sleeping on air mattresses or old, worn-out mattresses on the floor. The chapter removes old mattresses at no cost and disposes of them through the city. Volunteers have ranged from age 6 to 85, including school groups, civic clubs and community members who show up after seeing posts online.

The chapter is funded through donations and grants. Lowe’s, a national sponsor of SHP, provided a $4,000 grant after Westfall and Ditto completed required training. The Jackson County Commission awarded $10,000 – Westfall abstained from involvement in that decision – and American Electric Power contributed another $10,000. Rotary clubs, churches and community groups have also donated tools, lumber and bedding.

Mattresses remain the chapter’s biggest cost, averaging about $250 per bed. The group buys most from local stores or Walmart, which occasionally offers closeout prices.

Westfall said the chapter has never had to purchase sheets or comforters thanks to community donations.

Westfall said the need is widespread across West Virginia.

Jackson County is the fifth SHP chapter in the state, joining Harrison County, Doddridge County, Morgantown and Jefferson County. He hopes to help form new chapters in Wood, Calhoun and Roane counties.

“It’s needed everywhere,” he said. “On the west side of Charleston alone, they could probably do 100 beds in two weeks.”

The Jackson County chapter is accepting donations of new twin-size bedding, including sheets, pillowcases, blankets and quilts. Volunteers are also needed for upcoming bed-building events, which will resume in the spring.

To volunteer and donate, contact:

Steve Westfall, Chapter President

Phone: 304-532-8875

Email: steve.westfall@shpbeds.org

“Once you tell people what you’re doing, they want to help,” Westfall said. “We just want to make sure no kid in Jackson County sleeps on the floor.”

Gwen Sour can be reached at gsour@newsandsentinel.com