TALLAHASSEE, Fl. (WTXL) — 30 children will soon have a comfy bed to sleep in. That is all thanks to Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Texas Roadhouse, and the Florida State Women's Basketball Program.
Tuesday morning, FSU's women's basketball team took a break from summer workout drills to take on power drills. The team, along with Sleep in Heavenly Peace and Texas Roadhouse workers, were out building bunk beds for kids.
John Cousins, President of Tallahassee Chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace said, "We had over 60 volunteers here today for three hours building fifteen bunk beds. We're going to have 30 kids off the floor in a matter of a short period of time with building these beds."
The bunk beds will go to families affected by recent hurricanes. For Sayawni Lassiter and her teammates, the build was good for team bonding but mostly for being appreciative.
"I think it's bonding and for us to just take a step back and realize that we are really fortunate to be in the position that we are in and to give back, and just take time to appreciate the stuff that we have and give it to other people who are less fortunate," explained Lassiter.
According to Cousins, the organization started in 2012 and Texas Roadhouse is a big sponsor for the builds. Cousins explained the builds keep getting bigger and bigger as time goes on. He said, "In December of 2017, a year and a half ago, there were 10 chapters in the country. We are now 182 chapters strong. Last year, we built, nationally, 6,800 bunk beds. The goal this year was 10,000. At the end of June, we've had over 7,000 bunk beds. 14,000 kids off the floor in America. We're going to hit that goal by Labor Day."
The FSU soccer team built bunk beds with Sleep in Heavenly Peace a few weeks ago. Next month, the organization will have another build featuring FSU's Primary Care Center.
