Beaumont Elks Lodge #311 delivers grants to area 501C3

Beaumont Elks Lodge #311 is happy to announce that it has delivered a grant of $3,500 to the Beaumont Chapter of Sleep In Heavenly Peace (SHP), a 501-c-3 non-profit organization.

Receiving the grant at their "Build Headquarters" was SHP Chapter Chairman, Jack Seeley. Presenting the grant was J David Derosier, Gratitude Grant chairman for the Beaumont Elks.

Also present were representatives from the Fraternal Order of Eagles Port Neches Ladies Auxiliary, with their donation of 32 sets of bedding for use on the beds to be made at the next "Build Day" event for SHP. Pictured are: Lisa Smith, Betty Perkins, Tonya Sandifer and Cathy Nichols.

One of twenty SHP chapters in Texas, the Beaumont Chapter serves the SETX counties of Orange, Jefferson and Hardin, as well as the communities of Devers and Orange. Unfortunately, they are far less known than they should be, as is the community they serve.

One in five people in Southeast Texas live below the poverty level. About one in ten struggles to make ends meet with less than half of the federal poverty level of income. It is difficult to find the actual statistics, but too many boys and girls go without a bed or even a pillow to sleep on because their families cannot afford one. These children end up sleeping on couches, blankets, and even floors. This can affect their health as well as their happiness.

Sleep in Heavenly Peace is a group of volunteers in Beaumont dedicated to building, assembling and delivering sturdy, utility grade twin size beds AT NO CHARGE to children aged 3-17 in need. They are a chapter of a national non-profit charity, started in 2012 in Idaho. They work entirely on donations and with volunteers. As of December 2022, there are SHP 350 Chapters across US and Canada.

The Beaumont group have built and delivered more than 2000 beds. Their current waiting list is 271 beds for Jefferson, Orange, and Hardin counties! That's a lot of kids sleeping on the floor.

This group is such a secret that even our local CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) was unaware of it until we, the Elks, introduced them a few years back. CASA's need? They have potential foster parents for kids that can't qualify because they don't have an extra bed for the foster child. Now that's really sad.

The cost for materials for a single bed is now about $250, and $500 for a bunk set. This includes mattress and bed clothes. These costs have increased 100% in the last year due to the cost of lumber. Just the mattress alone costs around $100.

The Elks' grant of $3,500 was donated to Sleep In Heavenly Peace to fund the purchase of materials to construct beds.

A Gratitude Grant of $2,500, funded by the Elks National Foundation, was combined with a direct contribution from Beaumont Elks Lodge #311 fundraising activities in the amount of $1,000.

The Beaumont Elks Lodge #311 is proud to carry on its charitable work for children and veterans in Southeast Texas.

Elks care Elks share!