Last October, 111Project partnered with S.O.U.L. Mission – the University of Oklahoma’s football player development program – Oklahoma Human Services, and Oklahoma Assembly of God to host three separate Build-A-Bunk sessions to build 242 bunk beds for children in foster care. These bunk beds were distributed to and have been stored in various churches across the state until a responder needed to pull one from the inventory to meet a CarePortal request.
As of now, we are so grateful to report that 161 of those beds have now been delivered by 29 different churches across the state in every region! That means 322 children now have a bed!
Beds provide care but also dignity. Beds – twin beds, bunk beds, and cribs – are the number one requested item on CarePortal because they help ensure the safety of a child, increase the well-being of a child, or provide permanency for biological, kinship, and foster families. Beds are crucial in stabilizing families and are an OKDHS requirement for reunification.
After the Build-a-Bunk events last year, 111Project’s Executive Director, Chris Campbell, projected,
“These bunk beds are going to be the tool used to get children reunified with their biological family or potentially keep them out of foster care. They’ll be a part of the equation that provides more than enough support for children in the foster care system. And it will have a significant emotional, physical, and economic impact on the state of Oklahoma.”
This is a reality we have seen come to pass across the state. Having these bunk beds readily available to meet needs for families in crisis has made an extraordinary impact on the foster care system and the ability for families to prevent removal, have what they need for children to be safe, and reunify. We have seen the church mobilizing so every child has family like never before. Isn’t it the way of the Lord to use an idea like building bunk beds for children to catalyze movement and unification of the church across a state?
We are so grateful for our sponsors, community partners, and churches who have made this work happen! We simply cannot do it without you. THANK YOU!
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