Many of us will crawl into our soft beds tonight after a long day—and not think twice about it. However, for many children in the Tampa Bay area, having their own bed would be a dream come true. For the fourth year, BridgePoint Church has partnered with David Weekley Homes to make this a reality for hundreds of children without beds.
To date, BridgePoint Church has built 3,120 beds and David Weekley Homes has built and donated the wood for 600 of those beds. This year’s goal will add 200 additional beds, making a total of 800 beds, so children will not have to sleep on the floor. Vincent Cotignola, a project manager with David Weekley Homes, had volunteered with the Building Beds program as a member of his church and suggested the organization for one of David Weekley Homes’ CARE initiatives.
Trish Primiano, CARE representative for David Weekley Homes, is the point person for this initiative.
“BridgePoint Church works with case workers from community agencies and Pinellas County Schools to identify families in need of beds for their children,” said Primiano. “The case workers contact the church to receive an application they complete on behalf of their families. Many of the families served are transitioning from homelessness to more permanent housing.”
Amazingly, this group effort builds the beds over a two-day period.
“On day one, at least 20 of our builders will prep the beds by cutting and assimilating into kits the lumber for the goal of 200 beds,” said Primiano. “Travis Gentile, lead builder, is spearheading this effort. On day two, the whole David Weekley Homes team from across the Tampa/Sarasota division will congregate and finish assembling the kits and painting the bed slats with Bible verses. It is comforting to know that a child will sleep on a mattress placed on a Bible verse.”
In addition to the bed frames, a grant request was approved by the David Weekley Family Foundation to provide mattresses for all 200 beds. A check will be presented to the church in the amount of $14,600. Many others in the community donated twin-size bed-in-a-bag sets and toiletry items at the David Weekley Homes communities throughout the area in May.
“I love seeing how the David Weekley team members and family members, real estate agent partners, vendors and trade partners all come together to make a difference in our community,” said Primiano. “At David Weekley Homes, we are dedicated to fulfilling ‘Our Purpose of Building Dreams, Enhancing Lives.’ Not only do we want to build homes that delight our customers, we are also passionate about making a difference in the communities in which we work and live.”
For more than 20 years, company earnings and the David Weekley Family Foundation have donated more than $200 million to worthy causes in the U.S. and abroad, and it volunteers thousands of hours each year working with various organizations. Build (beds) month is one of three company-wide initiatives for David Weekley Homes; the other two are the School Supplies Drive and the Giving Thanks, Giving Back Thanksgiving Drive.
For more information, visit https://www.davidweekleyhomes.com/promo/build-month-in-tampa.
