Sweet dreams in new beds for 50 children

Fifty twin-sized beds were hand-built for 50 children by volunteers Friday as part of an annual event put on by Manitoba Blue Cross and Sleep in Heavenly Peace.

“New people are always needing beds, and so there’s always a demand,” said Jim Thiessen, co-president of the charity in Winnipeg.

This is the third year volunteers from both organizations have built beds behind Blue Cross Park since the non-profit announced they’d pay for a five-year lease on a warehouse that has allowed the charity to build beds year-round.

The non-profit organization relies solely on donations to build and deliver beds to families in need across Canada.

The organization started in the U.S. in 2012, and Winnipeg was one of the first places it opened when expanding to Canada in 2019.

Thiessen said their 4,000-square-foot warehouse in St. James has allowed them to scale up from building 350 beds to over 800 in 2025, and they’re on track build up to 1,000 in 2026.

Thiessen said they are now one of the charity’s biggest operations in Canada — but it’s still not enough to meet the demand.

A report from the U.S. side of the charity found four per cent of children in every major city qualified for a bed from their organization.

Thiessen said after applying this to Winnipeg’s population, they determined 4,000 kids in Winnipeg need a bed at any given time.

“Having a bed is quite significant for a child,” said Thiessen. “For a child who doesn’t have that, they’re more affected both physically, mentally and emotionally.”

He said it can also take a toll on parents, who are unable to provide their kids with their own place to sleep.

“When they see their child sleeping on a couch or, in some very bad cases, sleeping on the floor it bothers them just as well,” he said.

Thiessen said 77 people helped build the beds that will be delivered to families within two to three weeks.

They began building the beds by sanding the wood, which is put together to make the individual pieces of the frame. Those parts are stained and branded with the SHP logo and shipped off to be assembled in the family’s home.

“I honestly think that no kid should ever experience sleeping on the floor,” said Jeimee Ubasa, a volunteer with Manitoba Blue Cross. “Having a home is one thing, but having a home that lets you sleep comfortably is another for sure.”

Ubasa said she has volunteered for two years and was helping to assemble the bed parts after they were sanded.

She said as a child in the Philippines, she often had to nap on a concrete floor while at daycare — an experience she can’t imagine doing every night.

“It’s almost like healing an inner child in me,” said Ubasa about building the beds.

Diane Sparrow DeGrave, a vice-president with Manitoba Blue Cross, said both organizations share the same values, making it an easy decision to support them.

“It was just a natural fit for us from the community perspective,” she said.

Sparrow DeGrave said once the five-year lease runs out with the facility, they will continue to reassess ways they can support the organization.

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca