BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. — After seeing children's rooms without beds during visits to customers’ homes, a longtime electrician decided to take action and began building handmade beds for kids in need.
Scott Foster has made his living as an electrician for over 20 years, but he spends his free time during carpentry after seeing children in tough living conditions touched his heart.
“A lot of these kids don’t have pillows, they don’t have blankets, they use coats to cover up,” Foster said. “There’s nothing these kids can do about the situation they’re in.”
Foster always knew he wanted to do something, but he wasn't sure how to help until watching an episode of “Returning the Favor” on Facebook. It inspired him to start a local chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace here in Kansas City.
Now, children living in Jackson County and northern Cass County can receive free beds built by volunteers.
“Every kid deserves to have a bed," Foster said. "It’s your first piece of property. It’s a big deal to us and it’s a big deal to the kids we deliver our beds to.”
Foster showed 41 Action News the equipment used to build the beds. Planks of wood and mattresses were stacked in rows inside a small storage unit, where tools sat on tables outside.
“All of our beds come fully furnished with brand new mattresses, sheets, comforters and pillows,” Foster said.
After launching the nonprofit last June, Foster and his team learned how great the need is for beds, delivering 110 beds to children in need during 2018.
The group has nearly doubled that total already in 2019 and Foster said the requests are coming in faster than ever before during the last week.
“These are just today,” he said, scrolling through more than a dozen emailed requests. “Our phone just started going off about one time per minute.”
Foster said the group has received 53 requests from families in need during the past few days.
“You’re never going to catch up, but it keeps you busy,” he said. “We kind of look at it as a challenge. It gives a reason to work harder to try to find those donations.”
Moving forward, Foster said he hoped his team could help even more children sleep easier.
“Our reward for everything that we do is the smile on the kids' faces,” he said. “It’s nice knowing that these kids aren’t going to have to sleep in those conditions anymore.”
The Sleep in Heavenly Peace organization also has local chapters in Gardner, Overland Park, Olathe, and Kansas City, Kansas.
Families in need of a bed or beds can make a request through Sleep in Heavenly Peace and more information about the Jackson County chapter can be found on Facebook.
