PirateQ 
Mary Mabins, Pensacola State College
Pensacola State College’s Stitchin’ to Serve Group recently donated a handmade blanket to Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a national nonprofit that provides beds and bedding to children in need.
On Tuesday, May 11, Dr. Liz Moseley and Evelyn Gutknecht presented the crocheted twin-size blanket to Kevin and Buffy Loveday with the Pensacola chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace.
Crocheted by Gutknecht, a PSC senior computer systems analyst, and Darlene Mosely, an associate professor, the multi-colored blanket will be used to complete the bedding for a child in need.
“I started on the blanket last fall, and we completed it just before spring break,” Gutknecht said. “Just having that feeling of completing something is wonderful but knowing that this will go on the bed of a child who may have never had one gives me such a warm feeling.”
Started by Luke and Heidi Mickelson in 2012 in Twin Falls, Idaho, Sleep in Heavenly Peace builds and delivers beds to children who don’t have beds. As of November 2019, the organization has 200 chapters around the United States and has built more than 35,000 beds.
The Lovedays opened the Pensacola chapter in 2019 and delivered the first beds to area children in October of that year.
“Since then we’ve donated more than 250 beds to local children who have needed them,” said Kevin Loveday, president of the local Sleep in Heavenly Peace chapter.
This is not the first charitable organization that the PSC Stitchin’ to Serve chapter has helped. In late 2020, the group made Knitted Knockers that were donated to women who have had mastectomies and other procedures. Members also made items for Operation Gratitude and the Warm Up America! Foundation.
The Stitchin’ to Serve group was the brainchild of Dr. Moseley, director of the Student Resource Center for ADA Services, and Juanita Scott, director of professional development.
Other members include Dr. Debbie Douma, Cindy Hendricks, Andrea Scott, Juanita Scott and Charlotte Sweeney. Other PSC other staff and faculty members also have donated cash and supplies to the group.
Dr. Moseley said a Sleep in Heavenly Peace Bed Build is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 16, on the Pensacola campus. Using raw materials donated by Lowe’s Home Improvement, PSC student and employee volunteers can take part in constructing bed frames for children, she said.
“We also will be collecting new twin-size sheets, pillows and other bedding to donate to Sleep in Heavenly Peace so they can present complete beds to children when the beds are set up in the homes,” she said, adding the items must be brand new and in unopened packages.
Gutknecht who has been knitting and crocheting for years said she is looking forward to the Bed Build in October.
“It won’t really matter what – just to get the PSC family involved in this project – whether it’s building a bed, making a blanket or buying some new bedding, I am excited that we can help,” she said.
To join the Stitchin’ to Serve group, contact Moseley at lmoseley@pensacolastate.edu or call 850-484-2094.
For more information on Sleep in Heavenly Peace, visit www.shpbeds.org/chapter/fl-pensacola.
PHOTO: The Pensacola State College Stitchin’ To Serve group recently donated a hand-crocheted twin-size blanket to Sleep In Heavenly Peace, a non-profit that provides beds complete with bedding to children in need. Pictured are from left, Buffy Loveday with Sleep in Heavenly Peace; Evelyn Gutknecht, PSC senior computer systems analyst; Dr. Liz Moseley, director of the PSC Student Resource Center for ADA Services; and Kevin Loveday, president of the Pensacola Sleep in Heavenly Peace chapter.