For the past two years, the Build a Bed project started by AmeriCorps has made an impact on Warren County families in need. It has also affected volunteers such as Travis Keller, an Independence Bank employee who has helped with the first two years of Build a Bed.

“Last year we went to one apartment where several children were sharing a single bed that was in very poor condition,” Keller recalled. “They were sleeping sideways on the one bed.

“We took that old mattress and threw it away and then brought in three new twin-sized beds. The parents were crying. You could see the good you were doing. It was a feeling of really making a difference.”

Keller and other volunteers will make a difference again Saturday as the third Build a Bed project kicks off from the Housing Authority of Bowling Green.

Started with the involvement of Independence Bank and the Housing Authority in 2015, the project delivered 36 beds to families that had been identified by school-based family resource centers, Barren River Area Safe Space and the International Center.

The program grew last year, when more than $5,000 was raised to purchase frames, box springs and bedding and 44 beds were delivered. Tempur-Sealy donated the mattresses.

Independence Bank was joined by Van Meter Insurance, Houchens Industries, Warren County Public Library, SKY Pediatric Dentistry, St. James United Methodist Church and Sun Products in last year’s Build a Bed project.

This year, Keller helped bring the Bowling Green Rotary Club on board as a sponsor.

Thanks to the increased support, Housing Authority Assistant Project Manager Joyce Johnson is expecting 50 beds to be delivered Saturday.

Those families will receive cleaning supplies in addition to the beds and accessories.

“We don’t have any problem finding the children, elderly and disabled people who we target to receive the beds,” Johnson said. “Quite a few will go to grandparents who are raising grandchildren.

“We don’t just target Housing Authority families. We have taken beds to Richardsville, Plum Springs and other parts of the county. We contact the family resource centers. They know where the needs are.”

Johnson expects 10 or so trucks to show up Saturday to deliver the beds.

“We’ll have them all set up and delivered within three hours,” she said. “It comes together and runs smoothly.”

Keller expects a good number of volunteers to help with the delivery.

“When you have a project like this that benefits the community, it’s easy to get partners,” he said. “Most people don’t realize that there are kids in Bowling Green without beds. Once you explain it to people, whether it’s a business or an individual, they step forward.”