Helping Others

A recognizable film and television actor embraced a new role this weekend, as a real-life delivery man for a non-profit working to uplift Vermonters in need.Last week, NBC5 News told you how famous actor and Vermont resident Luis Guzman helped out the Chittenden County-area chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace. Guzman, who is known for his versatility in film and TV projects including the hit Netflix show “Wednesday,” joined the charity at a recent volunteer day in Essex. Sleep in Heavenly Peace builds modest wooden beds and provides them free to families exiting homelessness, folks who experienced a disaster such as a flood or a fire, or families whose incomes have them living so on the edge that their kids don’t have a proper bed.Guzman, who used to be a social worker before breaking into Hollywood, learned during the bed-building event earlier this month how volunteers create an efficient assembly line to produce dozens of beds in a morning.”This is such a beautiful thing,” Guzman said in the January 8 NBC5 News story about the volunteer day. “Everyone here has an incredible heart.”On Saturday, Guzman experienced the group’s impact first-hand when he joined Sleep in Heavenly Peace making deliveries to three recipients in Barre. He worked assembling the beds he helped to build, and visited with the grateful families. After completing the deliveries, Guzman told NBC5 News the experience was wonderful and very eye-opening.Sleep in Heavenly Peace said it is already benefiting from its newfound celebrity attention, in the form of more volunteers reaching out to ask how to join upcoming builds or how to sponsor a donation.The organization’s chapter president, Bob Brosseau, also wanted to give a shout-out to a partner non-profit he said is a huge help to his chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace.The Vermont chapter of Project Linus, named for the “Peanuts” character known for always having his blanket with him, provides handmade blankets and quilts to kids who are seriously ill, traumatized, or whose families are otherwise in need. Quilters and blanket-makers from all corners of Vermont supply Sleep in Heavenly Peace with colorful and cozy creations to deliver along with those wooden beds.Brosseau said Joyce Irvine, the chapter coordinator for Project Linus in Vermont, is vital to Sleep in Heavenly Peace’s mission of uplifting families. Brosseau praised Irvine and her network of passionate sewers for their dedication and caring work.”They’re just providing the comfort and love that everybody needs,” Irvine said of the blankets and quilts created by Project Linus volunteers.Irvine, a retired educator who lives in Colchester, said the partnership with Sleep in Heavenly Peace is perfect for Project Linus, which wants its blankets to feel like a big hug for any child who may need one.”In my years as a principal and as a teacher, I knew many, many kids who slept on a floor,” Irvine recalled. “That’s why I was so eager to join with Bob and say, ‘You know what, you make the beds, I’ll give you the quilts or I’ll give you the fleece blankets.’ Kids need to have something of their own. And these kids are getting a bed of their own. They may not have a life where they have a million other things, but they’re getting a bed of their own.”Irvine went on to describe a proper bed with high-quality bedding as “fundamental to existence.””And the parents have got to be feeling almost overwhelmingly happy that somebody cares about their kids,” Irvine said Monday in an interview with NBC5 News.Project Linus gives dozens of blankets and quilts each month to kids at the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital in Burlington. The charity also provides quilts and blankets to social service organizations to supply to their clients.Irvine said she and volunteers are mindful to use fabrics for a range of ages, as well as designs that are meant for either specifically boys or girls, or ones that are gender-neutral.If you’re interested in helping out, Project Linus provides a list of downloadable patterns on its national website. It also supplies ways of getting in touch with Irvine in order to arrange for hand-offs of donated quilts. Even though the chapter name references Chittenden, Lamoille, and Franklin Counties, Irvine said Project Linus supplies blankets to Vermont recipients located elsewhere and accepts donations from quilters in all 14 Vermont counties.Additionally, Irvine pointed out there is a drop-box for brand-new, handmade fleece blankets inside the JoAnn fabric and crafts store in South Burlington. Creations placed in that box will all go to Project Linus, Irvine said.