What do children need to succeed? If you said health care, education or nutritious food -- obviously you’d be right. But what about a bed?
That thought probably wouldn’t occur to most of us – and just a few years ago, it wouldn’t have occurred to Shelley Sellwood-
Davis either. “It’s something that seems so normal to you and I, so basic,” reflects the second-year Martin School MPA student. A year and a half ago, Shelley was working for Americorps when the organization’s members got the idea to ask their contacts at Family Resource & Youth Service Centers across Kentucky if there might be a need for beds. The response was overwhelming, and the Build-A-Bed project was born.
As Shelley quickly learned, across Kentucky many children share beds with five or six family members. She heard stories of children sleeping on living room couches and floors. Backed up by a body of medical and educational literature, Shelley and the rest of the Build-A-Bed team were firmly convinced that the children’s health and school performance would improve if they had their own beds. Plus, something more intangible – a sense of self and space – was at stake. As Shelley discovered, “Just to see kids’ faces when they get a bed, something that they own, that’s their space…it’s a big deal.”
To make that possible, this summer Build-a-Bed organized a 24 hour “Build Blitz” with the goal of building beds for 500 children. The beds are built entirely by volunteers, many of who have little to no building experience. Shelley counts herself among those: “I would never have imagined that I could build a bed.” But with the help of an easy-to-follow build plan and the spirit of camaraderie, dozens of volunteers who’d never done more than assemble a bookshelf produced hundreds of ready-made beds to be delivered all over Kentucky.
Those volunteers’ efforts have made a big impact on hundreds of Kentucky families, and they’re also getting attention on the national level. Thanks to a grant application Shelley filled out on behalf of Build-A-Bed, she and the organization recently won $2,500 as part of Scholastic’s Dream Big campaign. That money will go into next year’s Build Blitzes, and yes, that’s plural – this summer’s effort went so well that next summer Shelley and the other Build-A-Bed leaders are hoping to have multiple Build Blitzes across the Commonwealth. Their ultimate goal, inspired by the old teach-a-man-to-fish adage, is to exponentially grow Build-A-Bed by teaching community organizers how to build beds and organize their own blitzes.
And what about Shelley’s ultimate goal? Currently she’s focused on getting her MPA, working at the Kentucky Nonprofit Leadership Institute, and of course helping run Build-A-Bed - which is an all-volunteer effort with no paid staff. As for the future, Shelley says, “I’d really like to be a significant part of some non-profit that works directly with the community.”
To learn more about Build-A-Bed, go to www.build-a-bed.org.