Good Knights 'bed blitz' provides nearly 100 Elyria children with beds

ELYRIA — Some Elyria children received the first beds they've ever owned when Good Knights of Lorain County, a newly formed charity organization, hosted its first bed blitz early Saturday at the Wilkes Villa public housing complex on Fuller Road. Between 90 and 100 twin-sized single and bunk beds were to be put together and installed in apartment bedrooms in the complex by a group of 40 to 60 volunteers led by Good Knights Executive Director Roger Dorsey and President Jeff Baxter. The volunteers came from organizations in Lorain County included attorneys, civic leaders and recovery house residents. Volunteers, many wearing gray "Good Knights" T-shirts, hauled the headboards, foot boards, rails and slats, mattresses and other materials into apartments and assembled the beds in bedrooms. For Dorsey, it's a mission to provide a sturdy, comfortable bed, mattress and bedding to every child in Lorain County who needs one, he said. While there's no hard and fast studies saying how many American children are without a bed, in Lorain County it's estimated that number is 2 to 3 percent of the population, or between 6,000 and 9,000 children who are without their own beds to sleep in. And "the need is ever-growing," Dorsey said. Dorsey said he hopes to partner with other agencies, businesses and Lorain County's mayors. He said his wife Della is a whiz with logistics. "I build beds. That's what I do," Dorsey said, occasionally pausing an interview with a Chronicle-Telegram reporter to discuss the division of labor with other volunteers or hand out connective hardware from a bag he was carrying. Dorsey said he moved to Elyria from West Virginia in the early 1980s with his family and for a time, his only bed was either a pile of clothing or a closet floor. He formerly performed a similar function with the Lorain County chapter of the charity Sleep in Heavenly Peace (Motto: "No kid sleeps on the floor in our town") but stepped away from a leadership role in that group, which according to its Facebook page is seeking a new chapter president and volunteers to continue to build beds for children. Pointing to the nearby apartments, Dorsey said that for some children, the beds assembled Saturday were their first beds ever, first mattresses, sheets and real pillows ever. The charity also has received sustainability, business planning and publicity assistance from SCORE Cleveland, a group of active and retired business professionals. Lorain Metropolitan Housing Authority employees signed up families who requested beds, vetted them for the charity mission ahead of time and sent out reminders that volunteers would be in the complex on Saturday, Dorsey said. Requests for beds were filled in less than one day, according to LMHA. "This is a beautiful gesture by Good Knights to help these low-income families," LMHA Project Manager Ilianna Lopez said in a statement provided by Good Knights prior to Saturday's event. "We try to provide safe affordable housing to lower income (persons), but their needs go beyond what we can supply. Especially now with the pandemic, loss of jobs and kids having to stay home." Donations to the cause may be made online at goodknightsoflc.org, and the charity also has a Facebook page. "Every dime given goes direct to giving kids their own beds," he said. Applications for beds also may be made online, and Dorsey said the group will do not just major, multiple-bed projects but fill individual needs as well. Dorsey also put several elected officials to work Saturday morning when they showed up to the event: Elyria Mayor Frank Whitfield, Elyria City Councilman Jack Cerra, D-Ward 7, and Lorain County Commissioner Sharon Sweda all put in work for the cause, he said. Good Knights is continuing to put together its board of directors, which at present includes Sweda, Russ Hill and Thomas Gerrity, according to the charity's website. Saying he and his wife have been blessed and want to pass that blessing along, Dorsey said Saturday he couldn't stand idly by while other children sleep on the floor like he had to. "You can either be part of the solution, or turn a blind eye, but the need is ever-growing," he said. "If you've got the ability to help, help." Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him at @daveobrienCT on Twitter.