Beverly/Peabody Elks Lodge No. 1309 is on a mission to help local kids get a good night’s sleep.
As part of the Massachusetts Elks’ Build-A-Bed program, lodges, including Beverly/Peabody, are partnering with A Bed For Every Child, an initiative created by the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless to provide beds to children in need.
“Our second vice president came up with the idea of us running this statewide after one of our lodges (had) done it for a few years on their own,” Build-a-Bed Program Area 3 Chairman Lisa Fitzgerald said.
In partnership with A Bed For Every Child, lodges in Area 3 are teaming up to not only build 15 beds, but also collect items to make the beds more comfortable for the children who will receive them.
A Facebook post from the Beverly/Peabody lodge calling for donations reads, “Each Lodge in Area 3 has been asked to do a drive for donations of things to make the bed comfortable for example sheets, pillows, blankets, etc.”
In addition to the beds, the Beverly/Peabody lodge is creating “nighttime bags” to go along with them. The bags are backpacks, which contain items that a child may need to prepare for bed, such as bedtime books, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and night lights.
The lodge will also be sending at least three volunteers to build the beds that the nighttime bags will go with.
“This is a way for us to help underprivileged youth in our area while doing what Elks do best,” Fitzgerald said. “So we’re giving back to our community showing us support for the youth of our areas. I hope by running this program people see and understand what the Elks is all about and all the hard work we do to help our communities, our youth, our veterans, our seniors, and our homeless.”
