Volunteers build beds for children in need

ELKHART, Ind. -- More than 70 volunteers donated their time to build beds for children in Elkhart. The organization Sleep in Heavenly Peace builds free beds for families that don't have them.

“After an emergency, whether it’s a fire or a flood, whatever happens, the first thing they need to do is get shelter, clothing, and food. The last thing is they look at beds as a luxury, so we’ve had kids who are 5 years old who have never had a bed, and we’ve had kids who are 16-17 years old who haven’t had a bed for years," said Joel Conrad, Vice-President of Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

The Elkhart Chamber of Commerce Leadership Academy helped raise money to buy the raw materials.

Nearly 50 beds were made Friday and many of them will be turned into bunk beds.

“When we went live by the end of October we had 115 requests for 276 beds. We’ve been able to deliver 62 of those beds so far and obviously we have a lot more to go and we get more requests every day," Conrad said.