PHOENIX — Big things are happening for Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SIHP), a non-profit focused on making life better by building and delivering beds to children who don't have one of their own.
“It’s growth that could not have happened without help from people who watch ABC15 Mornings," said Joe Genovese, the Phoenix Chapter President of SIHP.
In August of 2023, ABC15 Mornings anchor Kaley O’Kelley profiled Sleep in Heavenly Peace, showing viewers how the non-profit builds and delivers bunk beds for children in need.
At the time, Genovese told ABC15 Sleep in Heavenly Peace needed a more permanent facility to house supplies, as well as build bunk beds.
“I remember you asking me ‘So what do you need?” Genovese recalled. “I said, ‘We need a permanent place.’
‘Well, why do you need a permanent place, Joe?’
‘Because we pick[ed] everything up one Saturday a month, and move[d] it to Buckeye or Avondale or Apache Junction.’ It was hard work. But we were willing to do it.”
Since August, Sleep in Heavenly Peace was able to get that space to build, a move Genovese called “a dream come true.”
Additionally, Genovese said he has received a record number of inquiries from Valley residents looking to volunteer.
"We've gotten over 100 inquiries from people who saw your two-part story in August,” Genovese said. “We had guys literally walk up to this garage door saying 'I heard about you guys! I saw you on TV!’”
The Phoenix chapter of the non-profit has also seen an increase in monetary donations, including a large grant donation.
"Checking my voicemail there was a gentleman who left me a message and he said, 'Joe you don't know me. I just saw you on TV,’” Genovese said. “‘Do you think you could write a grant proposal within the next 24 or 48 hours?’ I'm like ‘Yes! I think so!’”
That grant ended up being $25,000, enough for a solid month of lumber, brand-new mattresses, pillows, blankets, and sheets, according to Genovese.
Those donations, and the hard work of volunteers, will help families who may not be able to provide a bed for their children. The need, Genovese said, continues to grow.
“Two years ago, we had 50 children on our waiting list,” Genovese said. “Today, we have 3000 kids waiting."
Thanks to handy and creative ABC15 viewers willing to volunteer their time, a more streamlined bed-making assembly line has been built in the new space.
"We were building 100 beds per month, and we would deliver them over the course of four weeks,” Genovese said. “Now we'll be up to 300 per month and possibly 3,000 children a year."
George Aman is a volunteer who was watching ABC15 the morning O’Kelley’s first story aired back in August. Now, he shows up weekly to volunteer at Sleep in Heavenly Peace.
Time spent helping Sleep in Heavenly Peace is giving more meaning to his retirement years, Aman said.
"Rather than sit around the house, five days a week, six days a week, now I got a purpose to come here and do something to help out people,” Aman said. “So that's the best thing."
To volunteer for Sleep in Heavenly Peace, click here.
