The students at South Lake High School are putting their construction skills where their hearts are and building beds for children in need during the holiday season, in partnership with the nonprofit Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP). SHP believes that a bed is a basic need for the proper physical, emotional, and mental support that a child needs. So South Lake High’s construction program hosted a build day to build parts for 30 beds to donate to the organization to help carry out the SHP motto that “no child sleeps on the floor in our town.”
The mission for SHP to build and donate beds to children who need them is an ongoing commitment for the nonprofit. The idea for South Lake High to become involved came from Mr. Ron Milejczak who serves on the advisory board for South Lake High School’s construction program. His construction company, Kalos Services is underwriting the project.
Large strides have been made to the South Lake Construction program this year due to renewed interest from the community. With the demand for skilled construction workers increasing, Jared Fullerton, a South Lake High graduate, returned to his alma mater and helped to revive the program to prepare students for a future in construction.
The program teaches students construction skills and provides them with opportunities to receive certifications that will allow them to enter the construction workforce upon graduation. The students are constantly sharpening their skills by building things like picnic tables and equipment for the game corn hole, which they sell as school fundraisers. On Friday, students in the construction program, at all grade levels, will spend their regular class time building the pieces for bunk beds that SHP will then assemble and donate to children in need. Through this project, students are joining a worthy cause and using their skills to invest in their community.
