Sleep in Heavenly Peace built community while building beds in Windermere

Walking past Windermere Town Hall, it sounded like a million bees had taken over, buzzing louder than the traffic passing by on Main Street. 

In a way, it was like bees had taken over as more than 170 volunteers flooded the street in front of Town Hall Saturday, Oct. 18, to saw, drill, sand and brand wood to make 100 beds for Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

“It sounds like a swarm of bees, but if we’re busy bees, we’re productive, and instead of honey, we’re making beds,” said Bill Carleton, the founder of the Orlando West chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace. 

After Carleton and Windermere Police Chief Dave Ogden made their opening remarks, the volunteers spread like wildfire, instantly taking on the various tasks needed to get the job done. 

Within 10 minutes, a roar of buzzing began as dozens of volunteers started sawdusting while others were cutting or drilling wood, staining wood, branding the boards and more. 

Windermere’s Keith Carsten, a long-time resident of Windermere who has participated in the Bunk Bed Build for five years, was laser focused as he quickly sawed long boards of wood to pass onto the next phase of the build. It has become tradition for Carsten and his family to volunteer for the Windermere bed bunk build. 

He had a huge smile across his face as he looked at the more than 170 volunteers in front of Town Hall working together for the same cause. From children to high school students to moms and dads and retired folks, people of all ages came together to support Sleep in Heavenly Peace. 

“I thought it was a really nice way to help the community in a very material way,” Carsten said. “It gives you a chance to play with power tools. Pretty much the whole community comes out. All my neighbors are out here.”

In the afternoon shift, interfaith volunteers from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, Horizon West Church, the Windermere Seventh-Day Adventist Church and Windermere Union Church participated in the build. 

Carleton said the Windermere bunk bed build will make a “large dent” in the demand for beds. Although the nonprofit is on pace to make approximately 725 beds this year, Carleton said that does not come near meeting the demand as there likely are more than 1,000 children in the greater-Orlando area sleeping without a bed each night.

“It’s awesome we’re making this big of a difference, and it’s a little bit sad there’s that big of a problem in our first-world, developed country,” he said. 

In honor of the town of Windermere’s centennial, the Windermere Police Foundation and the town’s centennial committee decided this year there would be 100 beds built, instead of the traditional 40. 

“We wanted to celebrate by building 100 beds for kids in our greater community who don’t sleep in a bed,” Windermere Police Chief Dave Ogden said. “Let’s be honest, if we live right here in this area, we’ve probably never even thought about that. It hasn’t even been a thought in our mind, but I can tell you, being in law enforcement for almost 40 years, we can go from this point to four miles down the road where there’s a kid who doesn’t have a bed to sleep on. You can imagine what domino effect that has when you don’t get a good night’s sleep and you don’t have a bed.”

Carleton said the 100 beds will be delivered to families in the next four to five weeks.