The Alabama Coalition for Healthy Mothers & Children and the Perry County School System have launched No Child Without a Bed, a countywide effort to provide beds for children who do not have one.
The project is backed by a $20,000 grant from the Mark Cuban Foundation, which made a similar gift for a drive in Sumter County last year.
Organizers say the program will provide complete sleep packages, including bed frames, mattresses, bedding, and pillows, for qualifying families. Event dates, build logistics, and distribution details are still being finalized.
The coalition created the initiative in response to concerns about limited access to household resources and the effect a lack of adequate sleep can have on children’s health, behavior, and schoolwork.
Children without proper sleeping arrangements often struggle with concentration and behavioral challenges in and out of the classroom, organizers said.
“This initiative is about far more than building beds,” said Dr. Gary Furr, president of the coalition. “It is about strengthening families, protecting dignity, improving educational outcomes, and showing children their community is invested in them.”
The Perry County School System, under Superintendent Marcia Smiley, has helped with early planning and identifying ways to support families while preserving their privacy.
The system is offering facility support and involving vocational and agriscience students in the work.
“By providing beds to children in need, we are not only furnishing homes, we are investing in brighter futures, stronger families, and a healthier community for all,” Smiley said.
“We have seen firsthand how stable housing creates a foundation for hope, opportunity, and success,” said Emefa Butler, a Perry County school board member and executive director of the CHOICE Project in Uniontown.
Organizations that have joined the planning effort include the CHOICE Project of Uniontown, Sowing Seeds of Hope of Marion, Together for Hope and the Alabama Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Project Grace, No Kid Hungry, and Horseshoe Farms.
Organizers said they are also working countywide to address food insecurity.
Those wishing to support the project financially can donate at givebutter.com/ACHMC.
Residents, businesses, and organizations interested in volunteering or partnering, and families seeking information about bed eligibility, can contact the Perry County School System.
Frances Ford of Sowing Seeds of Hope put it more simply: “This is exciting!”
