By Gwen Sour, Parkersburg News and Sentinel
PARKERSBURG – When Jackson County Commissioner Steve Westfall, now chapter president, first heard about Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) during his time in the West Virginia Legislature, he didn’t expect the idea would one day take root at home.
After learning how the national nonprofit builds and delivers beds to children who don’t have one, he helped launch the Jackson County chapter – and watched it grow faster than anyone imagined and shared the success at Blennerhassett Museum of Regional History to a small crowd, Saturday morning.
The national organization began in 2012 when its Idaho founder, Luke Mickelson, built beds for neighborhood children who were sleeping on the floor. SHP has since expanded to more than 400 chapters nationwide. Westfall and Vice President Amy Ditto completed a three-day SHP training in Salt Lake City earlier this year. Westfall said SHP covered their airfare and lodging before the chapter had even raised a dollar.
“It got in her blood, and it got in my blood,” he said.
The chapter initially struggled to find a location to store tools and lumber until a rotary club member offered the use of her barn for free.
Image by Gwen Sour, Parkersburg News and Sentinel