KALONA
Angie Leyden Van Gundy and husband Jeff presented to the Kalona Rotary Club on Tuesday, Oct. 22, about Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a way to donate or help build beds for children ages …
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KALONA
Angie Leyden Van Gundy and husband Jeff presented to the Kalona Rotary Club on Tuesday, Oct. 22, about Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a way to donate or help build beds for children ages 3-17.
The couple are co-chairs of the Washington County chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a national organization that provides beds to needy children.
Van Gundy said she learned of the program when she was president of the Washington athletic boosters and thought it was a good way to help children who did not have beds.
She and her husband helped the Johnson County chapter build a bed, and then started the Washington County chapter by building a bed in their garage. Now they have a building south of the new Dutch Market on Highway 1 north of Washington.
When they have a build day, they usually have two shifts to build 10 beds. To date, they have given away 102 beds locally; nationally, over 200,000 have been given away. Beds have been given to children in Washington, Wellman, Keota, and WACO school districts, and the pair has plans for expansion.
The beds cost $250 to build, complete with bedding.
Sleep in Heavenly Peace is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Cash donations go to the national organization, which gets a percentage for insurance and rent. Van Gundy said donations of bedding, lumber, and mattresses are not shared with the national organization, and they are welcome.
Van Gundy wanted to make the Rotarians aware of the program so that they can encourage children in need of beds to submit an application. There are no income requirements, she noted; one simply must be in need of a bed.
She also invited the Rotarians to participate in a future building project.
For more information about Sleep in Heavenly Peace, contact Angie Leyden Van Gundy at 319-653-8642 or angie.loyden-vangundy@shpbeds.org.