More than 200 beds will be distributed to children in need throughout the south metro, thanks to volunteers who gathered at Northern Tool & Equipment in Burnsville for building events last month, including 20 Prior Lake Rotarians or their family members. The business hosted an estimated 500 volunteers who worked with a goal of building 250 twin beds over a three-day period. The beds were being made for Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a nonprofit that builds and delivers beds to children ages 3 to 17 who need their own bed. “Most of our beds are delivered in Dakota and Scott County,” said Susan Ryan, a volunteer with the Minnesota Twin Cities South Chapter and Eagan resident. Sleep in Heavenly Peace is connected with families through requests made on its website. Delivery teams contact a family and schedule the delivery. The bed is assembled on site and includes a mattress. The children also receive donated bedding and a pillow. The organization has no income requirements, Ryan said. The chapter usually delivers around 50 beds on Christmas Eve to other areas not normally served such as Minneapolis and St. Paul. Two Rotarians, Joan L and Deb S, and their spouses helped with this delivery, which included some of the 11 mattresses the club purchased, with an additional 4 purchased by a Rotarian.  |