Being rooted in the communities they serve, North Carolina’s electric cooperatives understand the needs of their local areas and, more importantly, how to give back and address them. Central Electric recently partnered with Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP), a nonprofit organization, to tackle a growing concern: childhood bedlessness, which is estimated to affect nearly 3% of the population.

SHP is dedicated to building and delivering handmade, fully furnished beds to children in need. The nonprofit is volunteer-driven and depends on the help of organizations like Central Electric.

“All children deserve to sleep in a real bed, and we wanted to find a way to help,” said Eddie Oldham, CEO and general manager of Central Electric. “SHP’s mission statement says, ‘No kid sleeps on the floor in our town!’ and we wanted to help make that statement a reality.”

With a group of more than 20 volunteers on hand, Central Electric employees from several departments went to work building beds from scratch. From cutting lumber to assembling the frames, each person played a part in reducing the waiting list of children SHP is helping to serve.

“This is how it works—we don’t do it alone,” said Tom Bourne, NC-Sandhills chapter president of Sleep in Heavenly Peace in Moore County. “It’s all because the community steps up.”

Central Electric says that while its mission is to keep the lights on, it has a core guiding principle of concern for the community.

“One of the ways we’re able to serve our communities is by partnering with nonprofits to do service projects and volunteer,” said Meg Moss, director of marketing and member engagement at Central Electric. “Central Electric is so passionate about the community, and this was such an incredible opportunity.”

Central Electric also provided SHP with a check to purchase the mattresses and sheets needed for the beds the team built. These beds will be distributed across Moore County, directly benefiting people in Central Electric’s service territory.

“It’s a great feeling, getting to work for an organization that is community-focused,” said Moss. “Every day we come to work ready to serve our members.”