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COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — Children in the lower Chattahoochee Valley are enjoying a better night’s sleep thanks to the compassionate efforts of the Brookstone boys’ basketball team.
The local non-profit organization, Sleep in Heavenly Peace, has expressed gratitude for the team’s support. This organization is dedicated to constructing beds for children who lack a proper place to rest.
Brookstone basketball players Charlie Peak and Reid Adams became passionate about the cause after their mothers discovered Sleep in Heavenly Peace online.
After sharing the information with Charlie and Reid, the initiative quickly gained momentum. Reid reflected on the eye-opening experience, noting the surprising number of children in the Columbus area without beds of their own.
Both Reid and Charlie saw this as a meaningful opportunity for their team to give back to the community, aligning their efforts with Sleep in Heavenly Peace’s mission.
On a Saturday morning, about 15 members of the team met at the organization’s construction site and got to work building bunk beds.
George Wolbert, the president of the local chapter, said the guys spent the whole morning sawing, sanding, cutting, drilling, branding, and assembling the beds.
He said it was impressive watching the team in action.
Wolbert says there are about 3,300 children in the Columbus area who don’t have a bed to sleep in. Last year, Sleep in Heavenly Peace built and delivered more than 400 beds to those in need in our area.
For the Cougar basketball players, they saw the opportunity as both a bed-building and team-building exercise.
“We each kind of saw the vision of what we could do with the whole team, how it could uplift the basketball team and be a good opportunity for the whole school to be involved.” Charlie Peak said.
Brookstone’s basketball coach, L.J. Billingsley, says this brand of community service is molded by the parents.
“It starts at home and they’ve got very good parents that teach them life lessons,” Coach Billingsley said. “I kind of try to do that, too, through basketball. That’s what we’re trying to do, just be an extension of the home.”
During a recent basketball game, Sleep in Heavenly Peace provided a bunk bed for basketball fans to stuff with bedding supplies. Coach Billingsley said fans also brought donated items throughout the week leading up to the game.
“It’s just good to see that the Brookstone community is behind you when you try to go out and help other people,” Billingsley said.
The Brookstone basketball players say they intend to help build more beds for Sleep in Heavenly Peace. In fact, they’ll jump at the chance.