A Bed of Their Own
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 9, 2011) — A University of Kentucky graduate student is helping to coordinate a statewide campaign to build beds for Kentucky children in need.
"Having your own bed as a child is something we take for granted," said UK Martin School of Public Policy and Administration master's student Shelley Sellwood-Davis. "And the need in Kentucky is real."
Build-A-Bed — a collaboration among two Kentucky AmeriCorps state programs, Family Resource Centers of Kentucky, schools, businesses, and over 100 volunteers around the state — began two years ago to build and deliver twin-size beds with mattresses and "bedtime bags" to help Kentucky children sleep better.
Armed with a body of medical and educational literature, Sellwood-Davis and the rest of the Build-A-Bed team were convinced that the children’s health and school performance would improve if they had their own beds.
"After traveling to many of the family resource centers across Kentucky, we found out that beds were a top priority," said Sellwood-Davis, who played the role of fundraising chair with fellow AmeriCorps members two years ago. "A good night's sleep is terribly important, and many children share beds with five or six family members, or sleep on the floor or on the living room couch."
As Sellwood-Davis also discovered, a bed is much more to a child than simply a place to sleep at night. "This is something they own, their space," she said. "When kids found out they were getting a bed, they were counting down the days, and recipients ranged from elementary school to high school."
In 2010, Build-A-Bed held a "Build Blitz," with the goal of assembling 500 twin-size beds in one day. Sellwood-Davis had to pull it all together: 24 hours, 500 beds, 2,000 volunteers.
Sellwood-Davis was in charge of everything from mattress donations to corralling volunteers and arranging delivery logistics. She credits her Martin School training in helping her to maintain rational expectations and a clear head.
"I would never have imagined that I could build a bed," she said. "But we ended up with 557 beds at the end of the Blitz. The generosity of Kentuckians was truly amazing."
With the help of an easy-to-follow build plan, dozens of volunteers who’d never done more than assemble a bookshelf produced hundreds of ready-made beds to be delivered all over Kentucky.
"This was a great experience for everyone involved," Sellwood-Davis said. "A lot of times you volunteer, you don’t see a product. We created a bed an hour." Build-A-Bed volunteers also had the opportunity to personalize their creations with message to bed recipients.
Build-A-Bed's next goal remains with the people of Kentucky and around the nation. "We want to see communities organizing community blitzes themselves," Sellwood-Davis said. "We'll provide any training needed, and our building plans are all online."
With Sellwood-Davis's $2,500 grant from Scholastic's BE BIG initiative, Build-A-Bed will have a great start this year.
This year's Build Blitz will take place from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 14, at the National Guard in Frankfort, Ky. For more information, please see http://www.build-a-bed.org.
MEDIA CONTACT: Erin Holaday Ziegler, (859) 257-1754, ext. 252; erin.holaday@uky.edu