Sleep in Heavenly Peace adds 21 chapters to fight child bedlessness

Sleep in Heavenly Peace said Aug. 10 it added 21 new chapters and seven chapters with new leadership after a training in Lehi, Utah, as it works to reach more of the 100,000 U.S. children waiting for beds. The expansion comes as the nonprofit says it has now delivered nearly 400,000 beds since 2012.

Why it matters: - Sleep in Heavenly Peace says more than 100,000 children are still waiting for beds nationwide. - The new chapters expand the nonprofit’s reach into underserved communities. - The organization says a bed is tied to a child’s physical growth, cognitive function and emotional well-being.

What happened: - Sleep in Heavenly Peace announced 21 new chapters and seven existing chapters with new leadership positions. - The quarterly chapter training took place Aug. 7-8 in Lehi, Utah. - Sixty volunteers attended the training. - The nonprofit said the training was designed to prepare local leaders to run chapter-level efforts.

The details: - The new chapters will serve Tucson, Arizona; San Luis Obispo County North and Stockton, California; Daytona Beach and Osceola County, Florida; Effingham County, Perry and Warner Robins, Georgia; Buchanan County, Davenport and Marshall County, Iowa; Scotland County, Missouri; Cass County, North Dakota; Erie and Lebanon, Pennsylvania; Kershaw County, South Carolina; Coryell County and Matagorda County, Texas; Ozaukee County, Wisconsin; Marion County, West Virginia; and Sheridan, Wyoming. - Cass County, North Dakota, will be the first Sleep in Heavenly Peace chapter in that state. - Sleep in Heavenly Peace says it has delivered nearly 400,000 beds since founding in 2012. - The organization says its chapters currently serve just under 30% of the U.S. population. - SHP chapters are led by Presidents, Vice Presidents and core teams. - The two-day training covers leadership and management, development and fundraising, marketing strategies and bed-building expertise. - In 2026, SHP volunteers have built 61,706 beds and delivered 51,792 beds, along with 334,692 hours of service. - The nonprofit says it has more than 400 chapters and is still growing. - The organization’s chapter program is built around volunteers and donor support. - SHP says children living below the poverty line may sleep on floors, couches or other inadequate arrangements.

Between the lines: - The chapter expansion shows SHP is leaning on local leadership to scale a hands-on service model. - The North Dakota launch suggests the nonprofit is still filling geographic gaps in its network. - The training focus on fundraising, organizing and volunteer recruitment points to a push for chapters that can sustain themselves, not just launch. - Amy Andrew, SHP’s director of training, said the new and renewing leaders bring passion that will help the organization reach more children. - Kristin Raab Schlingman, co-president of the SHP-WI Ozaukee County chapter, said the training would help her chapter bring beds to children in Grafton.

What's next: - The new chapter leaders are expected to take what they learned back to their communities and start or expand local bed-building work. - Sleep in Heavenly Peace is directing people to learn about volunteering, donating or starting a chapter. - The nonprofit says its longer-term goal remains ending child bedlessness so every child has a safe bed to call their own.

The bottom line: - Sleep in Heavenly Peace is widening its footprint fast, but the scale of child bedlessness still far exceeds its current reach.