Editors Note: This article was originally published in the Oct. 25, 2023 issue of the Chronicle Progress. Some information may be outdated.
With chillier temperatures drawing ever closer, it’s not uncommon to think about curling up in a nice, cozy bed.
At least 40 local children will now get to live out that thought, due to the efforts of Delta SkillsUSA students during a Saturday afternoon service project.
The project was arranged by club advisor, Kirk Willoughby, in conjunction with the Idaho-based nonprofit, Sleep In Heavenly Peace. SHP’s main focus is providing beds for low-income families and children who otherwise don’t have the luxury of a warm place to sleep.
“I listen to Mike Rowe’s podcast, and I heard about Sleep in Heavenly Peace, and I heard they were looking for a place to do a build in Delta,” Willoughby said.
Willoughby set to work to get authorization for the build to take place at the Delta Technical Center.
Once approved, his students—three of whom are Sterling Scholars—ACES Delta employees and SHP’s Richfield chapter churned out 40 beds, which will be distributed to local residents.
Willoughby credits ACES Delta for the bulk of the workforce.
“They organized their management to come in; our students were support to help out,” Willoughby said. An ACES representative was not available for comment by time of press.
The service project isn’t anything new for SkillsUSA, Willoughby said.
“That is part of our mission of this chapter, is to do service projects,” Willoughby said. “We do service quite a bit. We’re always doing little projects…this is one of the bigger one’s we’ve done.”
Willoughby said the club is open to, and anticipating, their next opportunity to build more beds.
“They’re going to need these beds again at some point,” he said. “It was a good experience (for the students) to help these kids sleeping on floors and things…
“It was a really rewarding experience for everyone, I think.”
Allen Mower, Dean & Julie Callister will be storing and delivering beds to those in need. If you know of a child in need of a place to sleep, contact them. For more information on Sleep in Heavenly Peace, visit https://shpbeds.org/chapter/ut-richfield/.
