On Saturday, January 6, eager volunteers gathered at Greensburg United Methodist Church with their power tools in hand. The church is the major sponsor of the Akron/Canton chapter of the Bed Brigade. The Bed Brigade is a non-profit charity that builds and delivers beds to anyone in need. Part of the organization started in 2012 in Grove City, Ohio. Teenagers were helping out at a church summer camp when they were asked to build beds for a Bed Brigade chapter in Circleville, Ohio. After a while, a chapter in Columbus was started. They partnered with multiple businesses and organizations to get started. Mattresses, hinges, wood, and many more supplies were donated to get the charity off of the ground.
Since the start of the Columbus chapter, multiple chapters have been created to serve other parts of Ohio. This includes Pataskala/Newark, Delaware County, Linden, Circleville, Lancaster, and Fairfield. Richard Stratton, one of the heads of the local chapter, explained how his chapter came to be.
“I and Greensburg United Methodist Church began exploring the idea of this mission during the spring of 2022 and held its first build in May of 2022,” said Stratton.
The Bed Brigade takes place multiple times throughout the year. Volunteers gather in the gym where wood and supplies are already set out on tables beforehand. There are multiple stations in order to build these beds. At some stations, the volunteers have to drill hinges onto pieces of wood so they can be connected at the corners. At others, individual parts of the beds are made. This includes making the legs or drawing inspirational messages on the boards of the frame. At the last station, the bed frames are fully assembled and then wrapped in plastic for easy transportation. It is a very organized process and everything has to be assembled correctly. The bed frames have to be supportive and safe for whoever receives it. Anyone is welcome to volunteer.
“Last Saturday was our 8th build with our largest number of volunteers (over 45). Over the two years we have had as few as seven, but typically a crew of around 30 works very well,” Stratton said.
Each month varies for the Bed Brigade. “Our experience is that there have been some months when we delivered as many as 25, some months none were requested,” Stratton said. “Over these two years we have built about 180 frames and delivered over 150 beds to families.”
If anyone is interested in donating supplies, they can contact the church to arrange a delivery. The Bed Brigade is in need of very specific items. Some of these include sheets, pillows, mattress protectors, and more. If anyone is interested in volunteering or in need of a bed, they can visit the Bed Brigade web page for more information. The next builds are scheduled for May 18 and August 3, 2024.
