Building Something Big with Steve Hoveln of Sleep In Heavenly Peace
All children deserve a safe and comfortable place to sleep at night, but not every child gets that luxury. When Steve Hoveln first learned about Sleep In Heavenly Peace, which helps build beds for kids across the country, he knew he wanted to get involved.
After realizing his local San Diego didn’t have a chapter, Steve set out to start one in his backyard. Now, he’s the founder of the latest chapter of the non-profit.
Steve sat down with Good People, Cool Things to talk about his involvement with Sleep In Heavenly Peace, Build Days, and other ways to contribute to your community. Note: This interview has been edited for clarity.
How did you get involved with Sleep In Heavenly Peace?
I became aware of Sleep in Heavenly Peace after watching a story on it during one of the nightly news programs. And then I watched Mike Rowe’s show Returning the Favor. It looked to us like a great cause that would be good for my wife and me to volunteer with, so I searched it out.
We discovered there wasn't a local San Diego chapter that we could volunteer with, and we almost canceled our idea to help. But after talking to a few other people they thought that with more interested helpers we could start our own local chapter!
We looked into the organization overall, along with its founder and leaders, but most importantly we looked into their finances. We discovered that in all aspects it was a top-notch charity, and the structure and training for a new start-up chapter were exceptional. So, we started a San Diego North chapter, but we fully expect it to grow very quickly.
Why is this such an important issue?
It's hard for me to believe that in this developed country, there are kids that are not sleeping in their own beds! But unfortunately, that is not the case. It's estimated that 3% of the kids in America do not sleep in a bed, but instead share a bed with parents or siblings, sleep on the floor (hopefully on something soft), sleep on a sofa, or maybe throw the sofa cushions on the floor.
A bed is a child's own safe place where they go to not only get rest, but to read, study, and learn. If they are getting proper sleep then we know they'll do better in school, which means they'll do better in life!
What are Build Days like?
A Build Day is a fun, community event that allows untrained volunteers to cut lumber, sand lumber, safely operate power tools, and brand a bed that will be given to someone in great need. They will never meet them, but they’ll change their lives forever! The Build Days solidify a sense of "giving back" to those who are frequent helpers, and it plants the seed of volunteerism in the first-timers. Once they get started helping they don't want to stop.
The Build Days would not be possible if not for the generous personal and corporate donors on all levels. They provide the funding to buy the lumber for the bed, along with the mattress and all of the bedding. They provide donations and won't see a direct result of the child receiving the bed, but they are trusting Sleep in Heavenly Peace to maximize the donation to be effective.
Build Days are a fun time, but without the very important delivery of the bed, they would not survive. There is no way to describe the joy that's on the face of children when they get a new bed for the very first time. There's laughter, tears, and a lot of hugging, and that's by the volunteers—the kids don't want to leave their bed!
What have you learned about operating a nonprofit?
It's much easier to work with a non-profit that has the structure set up and ready to implement. Then, the training that's provided makes it easy for the chapters to run effectively. And there are other chapters that can provide support when questions arise.
How can people give back to their communities?
Sleep in Heavenly Peace is one way to help the community in which we live, work, and play, but there are multiple opportunities! Donating food for kids’ backpacks is good. Helping at a homeless shelter is good. Volunteering in a school is good. Everywhere you look there's an opportunity! But if you don't look, you won't find one.
What’s next for you?
As a new chapter, our challenge is to share the word of a generally unrealized fact that kids don't have a bed. Once the word is shared, then the donations will start to come in. Maybe slowly at first, but then much more quickly. As we build a few beds, then deliver a few beds, the word around building will grow, but also the needs will increase.
I'm fortunate I am working with a larger group of people that have a similar idea of volunteerism and want to take proactive steps to make a difference. We’ll work together with the community to get kids a bed. The SHP motto is “NO KID SLEEPS ON THE FLOOR IN OUR TOWN” and we plan on fulfilling that challenge!