LAMBERTVILLE, Mich. — Normally you'd hear and smell the animals at a zoo, but not at Indian Creek Zoo in Lambertville on the Saturday before Easter.
Whining saws, drilling screwdrivers, burning wood, and the hiss of smoke overtook the zoo as people from all walks of life came together for a single purpose: to make sure that every child who needs a bed has one.
It's a need the family behind Dave's Carpet Cleaning says they often see first-hand when they visit homes. The company closed its doors on Saturday as employees volunteered to help build beds.
"It’s very discouraging to see kids in need, kids who don't have toys, and stuff, or clutter and everything,” said volunteer Kayleigh Adams, from Dave’s Carpet Cleaning. “We do see a lot of kids without beds, so actually we've seen a couple of our customers get some of these beds too on social media."
Let's Build Beds, a non-profit based in Waterville, put together the event.
For the past three years, they have been organizing volunteers to help bed builds. So far, they've delivered more than 1,800 beds to kids.
Dan Pellizzari, Director of Marketing at Let’s Build Beds says there is a huge need for beds in the area.
"In our local community, NW Ohio and SE Michigan, currently our waitlist has over 600 children that don't have a bed of their own," said Pellizzari.
600 kids - without a proper place to dream at night.
Holly Zdybek, a mother volunteering at the event, couldn’t help but make the connection to her own kids when asked what building beds meant to her.
"It does, with having kids... I’m getting a little teary eyed there... knowing that they will have a bed - a place to be," said Zdybek.
The Indian Creek Zoo paid for lumber costs, while Let's Build Beds brought the tools and organized the volunteers.
After the event on Saturday, 60 kids will now have a place to sleep.
"They're changing the life of a child that they'll never meet. But that child will grow up knowing that somebody cared enough to help buy them a bed,” said Pellizzari.
Roughly 75 people, who took time out of their Easter weekend to leave a big mark on the community.
The build continued on Sunday.
If you're interested in helping with a bed build, simply head over to Let's Build Beds' Facebook page. Click the events tab and find one that works for your calendar. All you need to bring is yourself.
If you're an organization or business looking to sponsor a bed build, you'll host it at your site. Just contact let's build beds on Facebook.
Finally, if you need a bed for your child, simply fill out a form at https://letsbuildbeds.com/.
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