“I’m a guy that believes God guides and God provides,” John Almond said with conviction. That faith has not wavered, certainly not since he was shocked to learn there were an estimated several thousand children in the Triangle area that had no bed to sleep in. He heard it from first responders and others who worked throughout the community. He saw it with his own eyes as he visited neighborhoods on behalf of the Dream Center of the Golden Triangle. Almond is executive director of that nonprofit organization that strives to bring Biblical solutions to city problems. His answer? Build beds.
The conviction shared by Almond and about 60 other volunteers gathered under the breezeway at First Columbus Methodist Church in downtown Columbus hummed in dozens of orbital sanders Feb. 27. In less than four hours, the group assembled 30 Bedz4Kidz. The build ministry is the Dream Center’s response to children sleeping on worn mattresses or blankets on linoleum floors, sometimes next to a parent or grandparent. The church/Dream Center partnership was facilitated by Brandt Galloway, a Dream Center board member and FUMC member. When he told the church of the need, a Christmas Eve offering of $17,500 was given — enough to build 100 beds. Intended for kids up to 17 years of age, beds, built so that they can be attached and stacked as bunk beds if desired, are placed throughout the Golden Triangle.
“It’s just heartbreaking,” said Galloway of hearing of the lack of beds. “I think of the fact that I have two young children and how special it is just to put them to bed at night and say a prayer. … I was floored when I found out how generous everyone was with the offering; to raise that amount of money for that mission is far beyond what I would have expected.”
“Referrals come from everybody — from churches, from schools, Community Counseling, Health and Human Services, the Housing Authority,” said Aislinn Kopp, pastor of discipleship and missions at FUMC. She helped coordinate the church response, organizing volunteers from the congregation and also The W’s Wesley Foundation and Mississippi State University alumni delegates. Pillows and bedding, as well as hygiene kits, are given with the beds when they are installed in a home by Dream Center volunteers.
To date, about 177 beds have been placed, many in Columbus.
“Now Starkville is asking for beds; Macon is asking for beds,” Almond said. “The need is so great. Our best educated estimate is that there are about 7,050 children in the Golden Triangle area that do not have a bed of their own.”
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A retired businessman from Tucson, Arizona, Almond moved to Columbus with his wife, Brenda, in 2010. He had volunteered with the Dream Center ministry in Los Angeles, first formed there in 1990. The local organization was established in December 2018 and received 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in March 2019. Its headquarters are in West Point, with a warehouse in Columbus.
Almond and his volunteer team have been tireless in commitment, implementing programs including Adopt-A-Block, Mission Men, Kidz Jam and Serve Days. And now, Bedz4Kidz.
“I’ve known John for a number of years; I believe in John,” Galloway said. “He’s a friendly, positive, happy person; his attitude is always fantastic. He’s got a passion for it. You can certainly see the fruits of his work. … They’ve got the (bed) pattern down to a science and the efficiency is off the charts.”
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Momentum behind the bed builds is in full swing.
“Oh, my goodness gracious,” said Almond, with gratitude for the donations of funds and time that are supporting additional builds, one yesterday in Macon and another set for March 27 at L.H. Nickels and Associates on Bluecutt Road in Columbus. Anyone interested in volunteering should visit dreamcenterms.org.
Many FUMC members plan to re-up.
“Absolutely,” said Kopp. “I think our church got a lot out of it. I think people have gotten a taste of how fulfilling it can be.”
“The builds are a lot of fun,” said Almond, who not only assembles beds but also goes on almost every bed placement. “We’re in this for the long haul. The Dream Center is a permanent part of the tri-community right now with the intention of not stopping until the need is met.”
A by-product of his conviction is the joy of volunteerism, bringing people of all ages together with a purpose. “Serving Christ by serving those that he loved, and, oh my gosh, in my heart I’m as young as I’ve ever been. It’s a wonderful, joyous, magnificent thing.”
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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