Press Release: Build-A-Bed Event

Catholic Charities and the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley to partner with Sleep in Heavenly Peace on the Notre Dame Global Day of Service for a Build-A-Bed Event 

Today, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Wayne – South Bend (CCFWSB) and the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley announced a new partnership to build beds for kids as part of the University of Notre Dame Alumni Association's Global Day of Service. Together with Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP), a nationally recognized and awarded volunteer organization that has built and delivered over 125,000 beds worldwide since its founding, the Build-A-Bed event will bring together at least 250 volunteers to build 100-150 beds for the benefit of area children in four hours. 

The partnership will aid some of the 2,000+ children in our area who go to bed each night without a bed or even a pillow; forced to sleep on the couch, a blanket, or oftentimes the floor. 

“It’s well documented that children with insufficient sleep don’t do as well in school and may struggle in social situations,” states JP Wilson, Sr. Director of Operations for SHP.  “Thus, children benefit physically and emotionally when they have a bed of their own.”  

“We are excited to partner with the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley and Sleep in Heavenly Peace to build beds as part of Notre Dame’s Global Day of Service and reduce the number of children in our community who don’t have a bed to sleep in”, said Dan Florin, CEO of CCFWSB. 

Date: Saturday, April 29, 2023 

Time: From 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 

Location: Innovation Park parking lot on the University of Notre Dame Campus  

Volunteers can sign up at https://my.nd.edu/events/40630

The cost of one child’s bed, mattress, bedding, delivery, and installation is $250.     

For information on becoming a corporate sponsor, please contact Kellie Porter, Vice President of Catholic Charities West Region at kporter@ccfwsb.org and 574-360-1970. 

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About Sleep in Heavenly Peace: 

Founded in 2012, Sleep in Heavenly Peace (www.shpbeds.org) has built more than 140,000 beds and delivered more than 125,000 children’s beds worldwide.   

About Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend: 

Catholic Charities (www.ccfwsb.org) is a private 501 (c) 3 incorporated in the state of Indiana to act as the coordinating and administrative agency for the charitable activities assigned to it by the Bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend; to plan for, initiate, direct, support and coordinate Catholic social-services programs for the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical welfare of persons in need; to seek and determine the causes of social problems in order to better promote preventative social-action programs; to participate in community planning and organization, and work cooperatively with other individuals and groups in the field of social work. The service area for Catholic Charities includes the 14 counties of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, encompassing 2,236 square miles, with a population of 1,247,850. Currently, Catholic Charities has offices in Fort Wayne (Allen County), Auburn (DeKalb County), and South Bend (St. Joseph County), Indiana. In Fiscal Year 2021-2022, CCFWSB served almost 20,000 individuals at a fiscally responsible rate of 88 cents of every dollar dedicated to client services. The agency’s mission is to serve all those in need as Christ calls us to do.  

About the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley 

The Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley (NDSJV) is one of the largest of the 266 Notre Dame clubs worldwide. As an extension of and local connection to Notre Dame, NDSJV shares in the Alumni Association’s mission to serve alumni, parents, and friends. For them, we strive to strengthen their bond to Notre Dame and with each other, to help them thrive in faith, service, learning, and work, and to inspire them to act as forces for good in our community and the world. 

 
NDSJV serves north central Indiana and southwest Michigan, from Warsaw (IN) in the southeast to St. Joseph (MI) in the northwest. Through donations, membership dues, sponsorships, and participation in signature events, NDSJV provides student scholarships and hosts programming around the Alumni Association's 6 C’s: Camaraderie, Career Connections, Catholic Spirituality, Community Service, Continuing Education, and Current Students.