One idea can change the world.

One person with drive and an idea can change the world. That's all that ever will.

In 2012, my friend, Luke Mickelson, engaged his family in a Christmas project. They built a set of bunk beds for a local kid who didn't have a bed.

Some of his friends thought it was a great idea and asked to help if he ever did it again. He did, they helped, and it was the start of something beyond his dreams.

A few other friends helped and then took the idea to their towns. By 2017, there were 13 communities building beds for kids. The dream of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, as the resulting non-profit was known, was about to blow up.

In 2017, the 13 chapters were primarily located around the West. The farthest east was a chapter in Minneapolis started by someone who discovered the organization through a web search.

During 2017, Mike Rowe (you may know him as the Dity Job's guy) caught wind of what they were doing. He had a Facebook show called "Returning the Favor" and followed the team around Twin Falls. Eventually, he surprised Luke with a new headquarters building.

In February of 2018, the episode was shared. Much to Luke's surprise, Sleep in Heavenly Peace was inundated with nearly 1000 requests from folks who wanted to start a chapter.

I was one of those requesting information. I was told that if I were interested, the next step would be attending a webinar, which I did. What I learned intrigued me. I called my good friend, Wayne, and asked if he'd like to help build a bed for kids who don't have one. He said yes.

So, the next step was to attend training in Twin Falls. It was at my expense. I had been given forced retirement in November of 2017 and was living off my severance package. Taking $750 from my savings to fly to Twin Falls, Idaho, to meet with a group of strangers (something that still causes me stress) was a huge step.

The next, even more significant step was getting my wife on board. I told her about the idea of building beds for kids. I explained that Wayne was on board. Then I told her about the cost of training.

Her response was, let me pray about this. I knew I would have to wait a few weeks before bringing it up again. Much to my surprise, she came to me later that evening, told me I should do it, and asked how she could help.

If that were the only hurdle, it would have been great. I left for Idaho on Friday, expecting to be home Sunday night. Mother Nature had another idea. Sunday, I left Twin Falls and drove to Boise. I caught a flight to Salt Lake City, Utah. When we landed, I turned on my phone and immediately got an alert that my flight to Milwaukee had been canceled.

The next flight I could get out was Monday morning. I found an inexpensive hotel room, walked to a nearby diner for dinner, and spent the night.

When I got to the airport the following day, my flight back to Boise (I was now routed from Salt Lake City to Boise to Seattle to Chicago to Milwaukee) was delayed. I was in fear of missing my connection in Boise. I didn't need to worry because the plane I was on changed flight numbers and continued to Seattle.

I finally returned home in the early morning of Tuesday.

That started a journey five years in the making. Since then, more than 350 chapters have been formed across the US, 3 in Canada, 1 in the Bahamas, and 1 in Bermuda.

In Racine and Kenosha, several hundred folks have volunteered to build and deliver over 1800 beds to kids in our area. Over 80 people helped build 60 beds and finished 30 others for our first build this year. These 90 beds barely scratch the surface of our waiting list.

So Luke had an idea. It spread to 377 chapters across the country. There have been 333,619 volunteer positions filled. One hundred eighty-four thousand seven hundred eighty-two kids have beds who wouldn't have had beds.

One person, Luke, with drive and an idea, changed the world for all chapter officers, volunteers, and children. Who says how many lives those children will change after getting a good night's sleep?

What idea do you have? If you don't have an idea of your own, plenty of children still need beds. You could start a chapter or volunteer at an existing one. Just do something. The world needs you.