Chippewa Valley Times

With nearly one in ten children in Dunn County living in poverty, a team of UW-Stout students and a local nonprofit chapter has built 25 twin beds to help meet children’s basic needs for their physical, emotional, and mental support.

The Women in Construction student organization invited volunteers of Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) to a build event at the university’s Construction Lab this spring. Don and Peggy Qually of Menomonie sponsored the event with a gift to SHP.

Ellie Becker, an upcoming senior in UW-Stout’s construction management program and president of the student organization, helped organize and manage the event. “I was 100% on board with the idea because it seemed like a good way to get students involved with one another while giving back to the community,” she said.

Becker reached out to SHP’s Dunn County Chapter President Mary Bygd to discuss collaboration between their groups. Bygd invited the student organization board members to a local bed delivery in Menomonie, where volunteers built two bunk beds and a twin bed. “We were overwhelmed with the rewarding feeling of giving back to a local family who had no beds for their children,” Becker said.

Bygd, a retired health care administrator who worked at Mayo Clinic for more than 34 years and has been a member of the Menomonie Lions Club for 19 years, was inspired to start an SHP chapter after attending a club meeting in 2019. Although delayed by the pandemic, the chapter hosted its first bed build in August 2021 and has since delivered 158 beds to local children and families in need.

Twelve of the beds built at UW-Stout have been delivered thus far to four homes. The other beds will be delivered when SHP identifies additional needs. Children also receive new mattresses, bedding, and pillows. Each fully furnished bed costs $250 to build and deliver, made possible through donated sponsorships like that from the Quallys.

For the build day, Women in Construction reached out to other student organizations and classes including students in the construction program, the Student Interior Design Organization, and UW-Stout’s Honors College. They were joined by Bygd, the Quallys, other community volunteers and philanthropists, as well as faculty and university leadership including Chancellor Katherine Frank.

The team cut, sanded, stained, and constructed all wood components before installing them in applicant families’ homes. “Ellie and her team are a wonderful example of this generation giving back to their community,” Bygd said.

Bygd emphasized her personal connection to the cause: “The thought that children in our community do not have their own bed pulls at my heartstrings.” She added that working with volunteers is rewarding: “People are so generous... seeing kids’ faces when they have a beautiful bed is my ‘why.’”

Founded in 2021, SHP has built over 200,000 beds across more than 370 chapters in 45 states and is expanding internationally. Studies by Harvard University, Auburn University among others highlight how lack of sleep affects children’s well-being.

The Women in Construction student organization at UW-Stout was approved last December and currently has 20 members of all genders. Board members include Vice President Rorie Boettcher; Treasurer Marissa Harmon; Secretary Adrianne Krueger; Public Relations Manager Ellie Senn; and adviser Kevin Wilkinson.

Becker enjoys construction's step-by-step process using sustainable practices. She is interning with Hensel Phelps this summer with potential co-op opportunities before graduating next year. Post-graduation plans include joining a company aligned with her values that offers growth opportunities.

To younger female students considering traditionally male-dominated fields like construction: “You have every right to pursue a career you are passionate about; you’re just as capable as anyone else.”