Spotlight on Local: Sleep in Heavenly Peace: Building Beds and Hope for Kids Across South Wake County
Zella and Leon Bracy’s Fuquay-Varina chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace builds and delivers beds to local children in need, ensuring that no kid in southern Wake County has to sleep on the floor.
Fuquay-Varina, NC, Oct. 30, 2025 — For too many children in South Wake County, bedtime doesn’t mean crawling into a bed; it means curling up on a couch, a pallet, or even the floor. That’s a problem the local chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) has made its mission to solve: ensuring that “No kid sleeps on the floor in our town,” says Zella Bracy, who co-founded the Fuquay-Varina chapter in 2020 with her husband, Leon Bracy.
Origins of a Mission
The Bracys were inspired after watching a 2018 episode of Returning the Favor (link) with Mike Rowe on Facebook featuring SHP’s national founder, Luke Mickelson. “The episode emotionally explained the ‘why’ of the mission,” said Bracy. “We announced the start of our chapter and my retirement on the same day in 2020.”
Since then, the couple has built the organization from the ground up, dividing responsibilities to manage the nonprofit effectively: Leon oversees build and delivery days, while Zella handles day-to-day management.
Meeting a Real Need, One Bed at a Time
SHP estimates that at any moment between 2% and 3% of children in any community lack a bed of their own, meaning that in a town of 50,000, as many as 1,500 children may be “bedless.” “We know that if a child has a bed of their own, they do better — academically, physically, and emotionally,” said Bracy. “We’ve seen it repeatedly, and we consistently receive positive reports back from educators and parents.”
The Fuquay-Varina chapter serves 11 towns across southern Wake, Harnett, and Johnston counties, including Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs, and Willow Spring, and has already delivered 1,232 beds since its founding. With a goal of 300 beds per year, the chapter has met or exceeded that mark every year. A new delivery hub in Hillsborough will soon expand that impact even further.
Bracy also added that SHP only provides beds to kids who do not have one. It does not offer upgrades or replacements. SHP beds come complete with a new mattress, bedding, and a pillow. If you or someone you know needs a bed for a child, more information and an application can be found here.
Community Support and “Holsters and Hoses”
The local chapter’s success depends on an army of volunteers and community partners. School social workers, counselors, and teachers help identify children in need. Local churches, civic groups, and real estate agents sponsor “build days” and provide funds for lumber, tools, and bedding.
Each April, the group hosts a popular “Holsters and Hoses” event, a friendly competition in which the Fuquay-Varina Police and Fire Departments race to build the most beds. “We raise a great deal of awareness and have a lot of fun at the same time,” said Bracy. “Both departments look forward to it and are incredibly supportive.”
Lowe’s Home Improvement, Kiwanis, Lions, and Rotary clubs, as well as the Fuquay-Varina Women’s Club, have all provided crucial backing. “Because all our chapter leadership and core staff are volunteers, about 96% of all donations go directly into building and delivering beds,” Bracy explained.
Volunteers Who Build and Deliver Hope
Build days are lively, community-driven events that require no prior experience. “We start with raw lumber and end with finished, branded beds,” said Bracy. “Kids are welcome if a parent is present. Our youngest volunteers are four years old, and our oldest was over 90!”
Delivery days, by contrast, are physically demanding but deeply rewarding. Volunteers carry and assemble the beds inside homes, often witnessing the emotional reactions firsthand. “We’ve delivered to grandparents raising grandchildren, families who lost everything in fires, and kids who’ve never had a bed of their own,” said Bracy. “You’ll see pure joy, we’ve had children so excited their feet barely touched the ground.”
Changing Lives, One Bedroom at a Time
The stories that come from these deliveries speak volumes. A family of four siblings who had been sharing a single double bed each received their own bunk beds, and soon their school reported dramatic improvements. Another family, recovering from a fire, received five new beds in a single day. “We know we are solving just one problem,” Bracy said, “but we also know that by solving this problem we are putting kids in a much better position for success.”
How to Help
Sleep in Heavenly Peace Fuquay-Varina operates entirely through donations and volunteer labor. Residents can contribute funds, sponsor builds, or join a delivery team. Monthly donors can become “BunkHeads” with just $20 a month covering the cost of one bed each year.
To donate, volunteer, or learn more, visit shpbeds.org/chapter/nc-fuquay-varina. Checks may also be mailed to:
Sleep in Heavenly Peace - NC Fuquay-Varina
PO Box 2905
Phoenix, AZ 85062
As Bracy reminds:
“Every kid deserves their own bed to get a good night’s rest. Common sense tells us that kids thrive better with a place to lay down at night and recharge.”
Thank you for highlighting this organization.