Unfortunately, 2 to 3% of American children lack a bed of any kind, according to non-profit Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

The 501c3 seeks to right that wrong, and has recently begun serving the greater Williamsport area.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace was founded by Luke Mickelson in 2012, according to Chapter President Laura Orndorf.

During Christmas that year, Mickelson’s children were preoccupied by thoughts of expensive gifts such as x-Boxes and the like, but their father had a different idea.

“He said, ‘well, we’re going to do something for someone else, too,’ so he took his kids out in the garage and he built a bunk bed with some scrap lumber and put it on Facebook, saying, ‘does anybody need a bed for Christmas,’ and he got 11 requests.

“He went to deliver the bed, and this child had never had a bed, and was sleeping on a pile of laundry, and just was glowing with joy over this bed,” Orndorf said.

Mickelson would then join forces with some of his friends and built the other 10 beds people had asked for.

The venture continued through 2018 when Mike Rowe would choose Mickelson and Sleep in Heavenly Peace to be featured on his show Returning The Favor, and provided the organization a warehouse.

Mickelson would then quit his job in order to devote his full attention to the organization.

Today, there are 427 chapters across the U.S., Canada, the Bahamas and Bermuda.

“Our mission is no kid sleeps on the floor in our town, and every town is our town when it comes to kids,” said Orndorf.

“It’s an unrecognized need,” Orndorf stressed.

“A lot of kids we serve have never had a bed, and they’ve either slept on the couch or with an adult or with siblings, and for them, this is their own space,” she said.

“It’s good for their health, their self esteem, and for the kids that come from a less than functional background, if there’s stuff going on at home, they’ve got a place to go to feel safe,” Ordorf said.

Orndorf joined the team in 2022 after a trip to a Utah chapter for training, at the urging of her pastor, who was having trouble balancing parish needs with keeping up with the bed building in the wake of the COVID-19.

“My friend, Tina Miller, and I took up his slack, and she and I have been setting it on fire since, and we were fortunate enough to be gifted a space right away at Piper Logistics,”

Orndorf’s chapter is one of only three in the state, following the closure of a Harrisburg location.

“I got all their equipment, so now we decided to go into Williamsport, because we have the capacity to build at at least double speed,” she said.

Orndorf has a special connection to her work in the Williamsport area.

“My daughter student-taught at Jackson Primary and there was a clear need.” she explained.

“Her cooperating teachers talked to her about what I do, and they’re like, ‘oh, we wish we had down here,” Orndorf said.

“We’ve given beds to kids that had just been living in a car, and only recently got housing, but they have nothing, and that’s one expense that they don’t have to worry about,” Orndorf explained.

“The housing department in our area knows that if they make a recommendation, I’ll get to it that week, so referrals are really important, andI have talked to some of the agencies down there, like Children and Youth and the women’s shelter, and I’ve already connected with them,” Orndorf said.

Unlike many aid or assistance programs, Sleep in Heavenly Peace recipients do not need to meet any kind of requirements.

“There’s no set criteria. You don’t have to tell us your income. You don’t have to tell us anything except you have a need,” she stressed.

“There’s no pressing questions about your background or whether you’re legally here. And it doesn’t matter who you are or what you make, anybody can find themselves in a tight situation,” she said.

Those in need of a bed can apply via Sleep in Heavenly Peace’s website.

“It’s very simple. You tell me where you live, you tell me your phone number, you tell me your kids, ages and their names, which aren’t published,” Orndorf said.

Though Orndorf said that she has a lot of volunteers, she stressed that she can always use more.

The organization will hold a national initiative on Sept. 13, called Bunks Across America, with local volunteers meeting at 9:30 a.m. at Piper Logistics to assemble beds until they run out of lumber.

“It’s only a half an hour drive, and I feed you breakfast, I feed you lunch, I feed you snacks, I give you cold water, and I’m entertaining,” Orndorf said, adding that there are spots for people of all experience.

“If you have no skills, we’ll have you carrying wood around. If you’ve got some skills, we’ll have you sanding the wood, and if you have major skills, we’ll have you drilling and putting the pieces together,” she said.

All pieces of the beds prepared are stored at the facility, and Orndorf has plans to open a physical location in the Williamsport area.

“We make the headboards, the side rails and safety rails and the slats, and store them all up down there in Piper,” Orndorf said, noting that she has plans to open a physical location in the Williamsport area.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace’s website features several donation options.

“There’s all kinds of ways to donate, from $5 to being a bunk head, which is like a commitment of $25 a month, to being a corporate sponsor of a build, to giving us a grant from your organization, to leaving us something in your will,” Orndorf said, adding that the organization also accepts Bitcoin.

They also accept donations of new unused mattresses, comforters, pillows, mattress covers, throw blankets and sheets, all twin sized, as well as lumber.

All donations can be arranged for pick by contacting Sleep in Heavenly Peace until a drop-off location in the city can be established.

“We need that down there. We need a trailer to help us deliver down there. So right now, the next person who gives me $5,000 or a free trailer is my new hero, and I’ll put their sponsored name on the trailer, and they could be famous,” Orndorf said, adding that all donations are tax deductible.

“We try to acknowledge as loudly as we can, our sponsors and donors, so that they feel good about it, and that the public gets aware of them,” she said.

For more information, to donate, volunteer or apply, please visit www.shpbeds.org or contact Laura Orndorf at 570-660-5494.