Last year, the Syracuse University Volunteer Organization (SUVO) took on its first bed build event on campus. The organization teamed up with the local chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) to build 44 beds for children in the community. This year, led by SUVO President Claire Ceccoli, the student organization truly doubled down.
Students work on building bed frames under the guidance of Sleep in Heavenly Peace volunteers. (Photos by Angela Ryan)
More than 200 members of the University community came together on Feb. 21 at the Skybarn on South Campus to build 88 beds for children in the local community. The space was a hive of activity, as volunteers sanded, tapped, drilled and assembled wood bed frames under the watchful guidance of SHP volunteers.
SUVO, which is supported by the Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Service, collaborated with seven campus student groups to raise more than $16,500 to cover the cost of all materials needed. In addition, SUVO partnered with the Student Association’s “Spring Into Action Community Service Initiative,” which funded an additional $5,500. Each bed costs $250 to produce.
The seven student groups that contributed to the fundraising efforts included Alpha Phi Omega, Delta Sigma Pi, Franklin Supply Chain Club, Kappa Theta Pi, Alpha Kappa Delta Phi, Oxfam and the Winnick Hillel Center. Members of those organizations, along with many other student organizations, participated in the build.
Odette Sherk, vice president of the Franklin Supply Chain Club, said the build was the perfect opportunity for the club to give back to the Syracuse community while also learning more about their area of study.
Students drill boards during the build.
“In class we learn a lot about assembly lines and the challenges that can arise when working on an assembly line,” said Sherk, a junior supply chain management and marketing management major in the Whitman School of Management and an environment, sustainability and policy major in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Sherk is also a Shaw Center intern. “Participating in the bed build gave our student volunteers real life experience on an assembly line where we could witness some of these things we learned about in class occurring.”
SHP is a national nonprofit organization with the mission of “No Kid Sleeps on the Floor in Our Town.” The Syracuse chapter of SHP delivers an average of 30 beds a week and delivered its 6,000th bed in the community last weekend. There is still a list of more than 400 applicants in the area waiting for a bed.
Dave Hoalcraft ’85, a University retiree, is co-president of the Syracuse chapter of SHP. On Friday, he was orientating new volunteers to the build and making sure that things were running smoothly.
“I grew up one mile from here,” Hoalcraft said on Friday as he looked out over the build. “This is what it’s all about … community. Students giving back to our town. It’s amazing.”
Ceccoli, a senior dual public relations and psychology major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the College of Arts and Sciences, said the process of “building the build” was challenging. She had to pivot and find new ways of raising funds this year. As the project developed, a wave of support from students materialized on both logistics and fundraising. “I’ve been so impressed by the way the students have stepped up and rallied around this because it takes a village,” she said. “People I barely knew were reaching out to me saying ‘how can I help?’ I’m just so grateful to go to a university with others who step up in this way.”
A student sands a board during the bed build.
Volunteer spots were filled quickly, mainly by word-of-mouth. “As soon as sign-ups went out, everyone was jumping in to sign up, which is such a great problem to have,” she said.
Ryan Edwards, a junior computer science major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and a Shaw Center intern, moved lumber from a truck to the building space. He also participated in last year’s build. “People forget that a bed is a basic necessity, and some kids don’t have that,” he says. “I am happy to be here helping to make a difference.
Dayton Kandrovy, a sophomore in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, is philanthropy chair for the rugby club team and arranged for some of his teammates to volunteer. “I received only positive feedback on the event and everyone was wondering when the next one is,” he said. “I will definitely be seeking out more ways to volunteer and create more opportunities for my team to give back.”
A year and a half ago, Ceccoli had not heard of Sleep in Heavenly Peace. Now, after leading the last two bed builds, she plans to be engaged in nonprofit work after graduation. “My whole life, I’ve been searching for purpose-driven, mission-driven work. I want something where I’m able to use the gifts that I have to help and empower others and bring communities together,” Ceccoli said. “The Shaw Center has really helped me learn how to do that and given me the leadership skills to take on an event like this.”
“The most important thing to me is I want students to walk away from this with a positive experience because I want to show them that volunteering is fun and they can do it and it’s accessible,” she said.
Ceccoli has been on deliveries and sees the excitement of children when they see their bed—and bedding—for the first time. She keeps a wood chip in her pocket, taken from one of the builds, to remind her of the importance of this work.
“When I reach in my pocket, I feel that wood. It’s a reminder of the privilege I have, and the work that still needs to be done and is happening in this community,” Ceccoli said. “It’s just really, really powerful.”
To volunteer for a bed build, bed deliveries, donate bedding or make a monetary donation, visit Sleep in Heavenly Peace.
