Utility workers know the value of sleep as an essential function of the body that supports physical, mental and emotional health. To help ensure local children are getting the sleep they need, 175 National Grid upstate New York employees volunteered today with Sleep in Heavenly Peace to build more than 125 beds for kids who may be sleeping on floors and couches. The beds, along with donated mattresses, pillows and bedding, will be given to area children who do not have one. Sleep is especially critical for the healthy development of children, as a lack of sleep increases a child’s risk for type 2 diabetes and obesity, mental health conditions like anxiety or depression, and behavioral disorders. According to Sleep in Heavenly Peace, 2 to 3 percent of American children do not have beds of their own.

“The connection between sleep and health is clear, and a bed of your own provides comfort and a sense of security,” said Melanie Littlejohn, vice president of customer and community engagement for National Grid. “Sleep in Heavenly Peace works to address something that has wide-reaching health effects: providing safe, comfortable spaces for children to sleep.”

Sleep in Heavenly Peace is a volunteer-led organization founded in 2014 and has since grown to encompass 300 chapters across the United States and its territories. It has seven chapters in New York, including four in National Grid’s service area: Buffalo, Mechanicville, Syracuse and Utica.

Families can apply directly to Sleep in Heavenly Peace for a bed or be referred to the organization by others. Recipients of the bed must be between the ages of 3 and 17.

“The volunteer opportunity is part of Project C, National Grid’s commitment to the communities we serve, with a goal of creating transformative, lasting change,” said Littlejohn, who added that employees are encouraged to look beyond conventional energy delivery services to create a more equitable future for every customer and neighborhood. “Project C was created to address community needs like this, as we contribute solutions to challenges faced by our customers, including those of social equity.”

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