First Baptist Owensboro Build-A-Bed Day

Additional Information

First Baptist Owensboro, as encouraged by Kentucky AmeriCorps, will participate in the Build-A-Bed Mission Project on November 1, 2014 from 8 am to 1 pm in First Baptist’s Christian Life Center. The build will consist of building twin size bed frames complete with mattress, and assembling the “bedtime baskets” that accompany the bed. The baskets contain toothbrushes, toothpaste, blankets, books, stuffed animals, twin sheet sets, pillows, mattress pads and liners. Since July of this year over 400 hours of volunteer work have been put in to prepare for this build. First Baptist has set a goal to build at least 50 beds for children in Owensboro and Daviess County.

In March of 2009, a Kentucky AmeriCorps program, SUCCESS Corps, began asking local Family Resource and Youth Service Center coordinators about community needs. One of the overwhelming responses they heard repeated time and time again was a desperate need for beds. The more they investigated, the more stories they heard of children sleeping 6 to a mattress, sleeping with parents and grandparents, sleeping on uninsulated floors, and sleeping on couches. Many of these children have unimaginably difficult lives during the day, lives affected by poverty, family struggles, educational barriers, and more. By providing a safe, comfortable bed for a child to rest, we can help improve their physical and emotional well-being. This can also increase their chances of success in school by helping them get a better night’s sleep.

In 2009, ATEAM AmeriCorps hosted 5 build sites and taught over 100 volunteers to build 57 beds for Kentucky children. Since its inception in 2009, over a twenty-five hundred beds have been built and bedtime bags have been assembled for Kentucky’s children across the Commonwealth. Over 1500 Kentucky citizens donated their time to prepare for a build, assemble and deliver these beds.

Community supporters are Green River Appliances and Menard's.