Teacher helps get kids 'Snuggled Up'

HARRISON TOWNSHIP (WDTN) - When you go to sleep tonight, think about this - there are startling number of children in our community who don't have beds. Now a Northridge teacher is trying change that, by giving kids a place to "Snuggle Up".

It may not be Santa's workshop, but what's hidden inside second grade teacher Trisha Baxter's Beavercreek garage is almost as magical. It's the headquarters of Snuggled Up Inc. , a non-profit she started after hearing the heartbreaking story of one of her students.

"She said 'I couldn't sleep last night. It was too cold on my floor even with my blanket," Baxter said.

For Baxter it was a wake up call. She says she actually stopped teaching to find out how many other kids in her class were without beds. What she discovered was that more than half of her students at Morrison Elementary in Harrison Township, slept on the floor.

"I turned away and kind of cried for a minute, just quiet tears, and turned back around and thought what can I do."

It's a question that haunted Baxter for several months until this spring, when she had a revelation - for about $70 Baxter bought air mattresses, sheets, blankets, pillows, repair patches, pumps and plastic bins, essentially a bed in a box, later slugged a "Snuggle Kit"

Baxter sent letters home with students informing parents about her plan and says the response was overwhelming.

"We had about a 150 that were on my list in my school that needed a bed. either sleeping on the floor or on the couch"

To date, more than a 120 Snuggle Kits have been handed out.

For Angela Deters, a single mother of six the beds are a blessing.

"The girls either share a mattress or they would be lying on a pile of blankets," said Deters. "That first night of tucking your girls, your kids into bed, an actual bed, what was that like? Honestly, it felt like Christmas."

Deters said her kids now get sound sleep, but furthermore, she has peace of mind, which any mom will tell you is the greatest gift of all.

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