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đ§ One Bed at a Time, Luke Mickelson Wants Kids off the Floor, Top 10 CNN Heroes
BRINK OF GREATNESS
English - December 17, 2018 20:12 - 58 minutes - 80.5 MBNews Homepage Download Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
âIf you want true joy, youâve got to stop looking at yourself,â says Luke Mickelson.
Mickelson knew something was missing in his life. It was time to get off the sofa and figure it out.
Back in 2012, it came to the attention of Mickelson through his Church, that some kids in the community were sleeping on the floor. He felt compelled to help the family out. Instead of buying a bed for the kids, he decided to take on the project of making the bed. So Mickelson and his own family, and church volunteers built the bed from lumber he picked up at the local store, and donated the bunk bed to the family.
âThis little girl had a nest of clothes, it looked like a little birdâs nest. And thatâs what she slept on, thatâs what her bed was,â Mickelson said. âWhen we delivered the bed, she hugged it and just couldnât let go.â
âThat first project, we built 11 bunk beds in my garage,â he said. âThe next year, we did 15. Then it doubled every year. In 2017, we built 612 bunk beds.â That feeling of changing a life, of giving back â changed everything. That is in fact what was missing.
The story of âSleep in Heavenly Peaceâ will inspire you, and move you to action in your own life.
The story continues on the Brink of Greatness PodcastâŚ
The Next Leap Forward
He was asked in a CNN interview how he was making ends meet; since he had quit his job and was not taking salary from the not-for-profit.
âI quit my job of 18 years because I wanted to do this full-time, or at least as much as I possibly could, because I knew the need was big. It just came to a point where I could see that my passion really is helping these kids. It was gratifying to see my kids and my family be involved with it and help them learn the value of service, but also seeing everybody else feel and see that joy from helping kids get off the floor. Itâs contagious,â said Mickelson. âI was very fortunate to have another company offer me a job. Granted, I took a huge pay cut, but it helps me get by and helps me do what I need to do with Sleep in Heavenly Peace. Theyâre very understanding of what my passion is.â
âI found that the need I have isnât financial,â he said. âThe need I have is seeing the joy on kidasâ faces, knowing that I can make a difference.â
Brink Notes:
Website:Â https://www.shpbeds.org/
Follow on Twitter:Â https://twitter.com/ShpBeds