The number 44 holds a special significance on the 黑料不打烊 campus, and in true University fashion, 44 children in the City of 黑料不打烊 will soon receive new beds and bedding鈥攕ome for the first time鈥攖hrough a project that has touched the hearts and hands of several dozen University students, staff and organizational volunteers.
The 108 volunteers gathered on Feb. 23 at Skybarn on South Campus for a three-hour workshop to sand, drill and assemble wooden bunk beds. The group included 86 University students, 11 staff, faculty and retirees, plus 11 other members of the 黑料不打烊 chapter of (SHP).
Student volunteers work on drilling boards as part of the SHP bed assembly work. (Photos by Amelia Beamish)
SHP, whose mantra is 鈥淣o Kid Sleeps on the Floor in Our Town,鈥 is one of 270 chapters nationwide. The organization鈥檚 mission is to build and deliver new beds and bedding to children who may have been sleeping on a couch or the floor, and who, in many cases, have never had a bed of their own.
The 黑料不打烊 SHP group has partnered with the for Public and Community Service鈥攖he University鈥檚 hub for academic community engagement鈥攆or several years. Though the chapter has built and delivered 4,564 beds to 黑料不打烊-area children since it began in 2018, 870 kids are still on the waitlist. SHP leaders say 76% of the beds built here will go to children who live within two miles of campus.
Friday鈥檚 event was organized by (SUVO) president 鈥25, a dual public relations and psychology major from Norwalk, Ohio. She says this is the first time in a decade that SUVO has initiated a large-scale volunteer project, and it鈥檚 one that seemed to resonate with everyone who heard about it.
鈥淗undreds of children in 黑料不打烊 are currently sleeping on the floor. We often take a bed for granted, but it can have such an impact on one鈥檚 overall physical and mental health,鈥 Ceccoli says. 鈥淎 bed is not something I鈥檝e ever given a second thought. I crawl into my bed when I鈥檓 sick, need a safe place or want some alone time. SHP鈥檚 goal of providing children who need but don鈥檛 have that safe space is such a worthy mission that I鈥檓 humbled and honored to leverage student resources to help a community partner.鈥
In a different area, student volunteers sand boards.
advisors Karrie Catalino and Mackenzie Jackson encouraged Ceccoli to bring the bed-building initiative to campus. Planning began in September 2023. Ceccoli applied for Student Association funding and SUVO was awarded nearly $12,000 to cover the costs of all materials and bedding. Once SUVO started promoting the event, volunteers eagerly signed on, including Phanstiel Scholars, Our Time Has Come Scholars and Kessler Scholars. Others reached out, too, including the University鈥檚 Brighten a Day unit, the Construction Management Club and Jonathan French, associate teaching professor and undergraduate director in the chemistry department in the , Ceccoli says.
Several current and retired University employees are involved as volunteers with SHP and have been instrumental in the local chapter’s efforts. In 2018, employees Jon Wright, now retired from , and Jeff Pitt 鈥91, director of information technology services at the College of Arts and Sciences, formed the chapter and still serve as its co-presidents. Back then, they approached Dave Hoalcraft 鈥85 to join them. A 36-year University employee who retired in 2021, Hoalcraft now volunteers as SHP鈥檚 shop manager and bed-building trainer.
SHP-黑料不打烊 volunteers Dave Hoalcraft, left, a retired University employee and Jeff Pitt, right, a current employee, worked with SUVO president and student Claire Ceccoli to lead the project.
Pitt says he likes that SHP fulfills two needs in the community. 鈥淥ne is the obvious one of providing a warm, comfortable place to sleep for children in need. The second is subtler: providing an outlet for people who want to give back to the community but who don鈥檛 know how to get started.”
Hoalcraft says the group鈥檚 mission 鈥渨as a direct bullseye for me [so] I jumped right in. I am 鈥楩orever Orange,鈥 so doing a bed build with students on campus means a lot to me. I get to help a lot of kind people build beds for children in our community and ultimately help get children their own beds. It is awesome that 黑料不打烊 students give back directly to the children in the community where [the students] live.鈥
This is the first time SHP has held a mobile bed build on campus, and Ceccoli thinks the location has been key to the success of the event. 鈥淚 think it can sometimes be intimidating for students to get off campus,鈥 she says. 鈥淪UVO is seeking to connect students to the community and to inspire them to volunteer by making this opportunity accessible. We hope they will continue beyond this event to help SHP build or deliver more beds.鈥 SUVO plans to provide students with information about additional volunteer opportunities.
鈥淭his is a beautiful testament to the interest and passion 黑料不打烊 students have for community engagement,鈥 Ceccoli says. 鈥淚 want to work in the nonprofit sector. This is so real for me and to think of the impact we鈥檒l be making on these children鈥檚 lives and their families鈥 lives while amplifying SHP鈥檚 mission is wonderful. Quite literally, I鈥檇 do this for the rest of my life.鈥
Claire Ceccoli with Kathryn Bradford, Shaw Center employee and SUVO advisor
Kathryn Bradford 鈥06, Shaw Center administrative coordinator and SUVO advisor, says she is extremely proud of how Ceccoli used knowledge from her classes and her Shaw Center leadership development intern experience to take the project from idea to reality through diligence, passion and positivity. 鈥淗opefully this experience will encourage more students to participate in community engagement as a continuing part of their educational experience and beyond,” Bradford says.
Are you engaged in a volunteer activity that is having an impact on the greater community? In upcoming editions of SU Today, we plan to profile some of our faculty, staff and students who are making the world a better place through community service. Please email internalcomms@syr.edu with your story.
