April 29th, 2024

This bed delivery was sponsored by the Vincennes Police Department and the Chief of Police, Jon Hillenbrand. I had a meeting with Chief Hillenbrand and explained what Dream Builders of Indiana was all about. I had met with most of the Law Enforcement agencies in Knox and Gibson Counties and left pamphlets for their officers. My thought process was, to hand out pamphlets to Police Officers and while they are out and see a child who needs a bed, they can just give the parents our pamphlet so they can apply for a bed. During our meeting, Chief Hillenbrand was very interested in our mission. He immediately wanted to help. This led to a donation from the Vincennes Police Department, from Jon and his wife, and from Jon’s parents. It’s crazy how a little bit of goodness spreads like wildfire.

On March 21st we received two bed applications for the same household. I reached out to see exactly what they were wanting and come to find out, they wanted a bunk bed for a 7-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl. This would be our first bunk bed. When I originally designed our prototype bed, I had this exact scenario in mind. I knew someone would want a bunk bed. In my head and on paper it would be very easy to turn two twins into a bunk bed. We will soon see. So far, we’ve only built one bed a month. This month we will have to basically double that and my full-time job schedule is CRAZY this month. I had faith and no doubts that we could make it happen, though.

I went to Menard’s and picked up all the wood and started cutting everything up to length. Then I started the LONG sanding process. I start off with 100-grit paper to knock down all the rough parts. It took me literally a full day of sanding. I still had to go over everything again with 180 grit paper. I called up a few people and set up a day and time to have more people sanding. Bobby, Laura, and Lucas Kern showed up and I had my boy Ethan, and my daughter, Olivia help out too. With all that help we got the next round of sanding knocked out in less than an hour!! This is the way. I spent more time prepping everything to assemble and put the beds together. Once everything was built, I sprayed the finish on everything at home. It’s nice to have a paint booth to use, but I sure do like the ease of spraying at home. I’m glad it was a beautiful day.

I went to pick up all the bedding and the custom embroidered blankets from Kendra (maybe one day I can get one… hint, hint). Once everything was purchased and picked up, I called to set up delivery. Since my work schedule was crazy, I only had like two days that I could have delivered on, and thank goodness we were able to make everything work out. Delivery Day arrived and Bobby called to see if I needed any help and you know I’m not turning down help. He came by and we loaded everything up… rushing to get it loaded before the storm hit. On the way to Vincennes, the sky opened up and poured cats and dogs… but we made it to the Vincennes Police Department where we met up with Chief Hillenbrand. The three of us started towards the house and I called up Vincennes University Police Officer Ice and told him what we were doing and invited him along.

We made it to the house and then braved the rain. I always like to meet the family and see the space before bringing anything inside. Those two kids were so happy. They smiled the entire time we were there. I can’t go into any details of their situation or post any pictures of them, but take my word for it… these kids were so happy. It’s like opening the first present on Christmas morning. We brought everything inside and started putting everything together. I’m glad I had the forethought to mark everything with labels so I didn’t have to play any guessing games on what parts went where. We put the bottom bed together along with the mattress and bedding, then we put the top bunk together along with the mattress and bedding. Then we lifted up the top bed and set it in place on the bottom bed and there she was… our first bunkbed… completed. I gave the children their new custom embroidered blankets. The first thing the 6-year-old said was, “Wow! It’s so soft!” The kiddos were excited to try out their new beds. The boy climbed right up to his new top bunk and jumped on. I just can’t explain the joy on their faces… you just have to experience it to know.

Here is your invitation. Come out and put a little sweat equity in building a bed, then come out and help deliver. I invite you to share the joy that I experience, knowing how a simple bed can have long-lasting positive effects on a child's life. Come see, first hand, how God is working. Here is your invitation to join our mission. Will you accept?