National Grid Helps Build Beds For Children In Need

Volunteers from National Grid have built 125 beds to support the Upstate New York Chapters of Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

175 upstate New York National Grid employees took part in the effort on Thursday at  Sleep in Heavenly Peace’s build site at Meyda Tiffany’s warehouse on Oriskany Boulevard in Yorkville.

The beds, along with donated mattresses, pillows and bedding, will be given to area children who do not have one.

According to Sleep in Heavenly Peace, two to three percent of American children do not have beds of their own.

“The connection between sleep and health is clear, and a bed of your own provides comfort and a sense of security,” said Melanie Littlejohn, vice president of customer and community engagement for National Grid. “Sleep in Heavenly Peace works to address something that has wide-reaching health effects: providing safe, comfortable spaces for children to sleep.”

Sleep in Heavenly Peace is a volunteer-led organization founded in 2014 and has since grown to encompass 300 chapters across the United States and its territories.

The motto of Sleep in Heavenly Peace is "No Kids Sleeps on the Floor in Our Town."

It has seven chapters in New York, including four in National Grid’s service area: Buffalo, Mechanicville, Syracuse and Utica.

Families can apply directly to Sleep in Heavenly Peace for a bed or be referred to the organization by others. Recipients of the bed must be between the ages of 3 and 17.

The Utica Chapter of Sleep In Heavenly Peace held a Mega Build at the Sangertown Mall in New Hartford in April.

400 volunteers built 276 beds in three days.