Books, Coffee, and Charity: The Carpenter’s Cup

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Sarah Perry

In the rural town of Butler, Missouri—birthplace of author and libertarian thinker Robert A. Heinlein—we found a small Christian bookstore with a big mission. Not only does The Carpenter’s Cup sell books, gifts, décor, and have a full hot and cold beverage menu ranging from coffee to fruit smoothies: they are also a major hub of charity for Bates County.

I spoke with Becky, one of the founders and owners. When I asked her who got the bookstore started, she said: “God did.” Becky and her sister Phyllis were both working as registered nurses when Becky felt inspired that someone should start a Christian bookstore in town. At the end of 2015, Becky quit her job as a nurse and took the leap of faith to get her bookstore dream started and christened it The Carpenter’s Cup. Her sister Phyllis and their 90 year-old mother also work in the store.

Almost immediately, people in need began flocking to the new Christian bookstore for help with food, bills, clothing, and other necessities. Becky says she thinks they thought it was a church at first. The local Ministry Alliance of pastors from various churches asked if they could hand out utility vouchers at her bookstore. She only agreed after they promised that background checks at the police station would no longer be required for the vouchers, and there would be no policing of the morality of the needy people as well. “That’s none of my business,” she said, referring to Christ’s ministry feeding the hungry and helping people no matter how righteous or wicked other people thought they were.

There is great need in the Bates County area. But as Becky says, “a lot of people want to help, they just don’t know how.” The Carpenter’s Cup now facilitates all kinds of charitable programs. They began Project Hand Up, a 501c3 dedicated to assisting the needy. They have a Blessings Box outside their door—a cabinet someone built and donated for people to put shelf-stable food into and take as needed. Inside, they have fridge space for perishable food donations. In this rural setting, many people bring produce straight from their gardens and eggs from their own backyard chickens and ducks. Even the local Walmart sends food donations monthly, and if anything is expired, the food is still usable to people who keep chickens or other livestock.

I asked Becky how they made it through the Covid lockdowns. She said people volunteered to pay their rent and utility bills while they had to close. And even though they were closed, people still brought in food and entire prepared meals for the needy. People in need would come pick up the food, or if they couldn’t, a volunteer would deliver it. In the summer of 2020, they began a lunch program for school-aged children. This soon expanded to anyone who needed lunch. The food is provided by individual donors as well as the local Sonic and McDonald’s, and then served at the local park and the town square. Becky estimates they served 4000 lunches that summer.

The Carpenter’s Cup also provides backpacks with school supplies for families in need, and when they can get enough donations, new shoes and socks for school-aged children. For Thanksgiving, they fill laundry baskets with a turkey and all the ingredients for a delicious Thanksgiving feast for people to pick up. Last Thanksgiving (2022), they provided 500 meals. In the winter, they collect coats and warm gear for the homeless, working in conjunction with Jeff Moore, whom VIA donors assisted with this effort last winter (February 2023). In the summer, they collect fans and small air conditioning units to distribute.

In this blazing Missouri summer, The Carpenter’s Cup greets you with a handwritten sign on its door stating: “FREE ICE WATER.” The bookstore has had people sleep on its store floor before. Becky laments that there is not a homeless shelter in Bates County—it’s a sore need that has yet to be filled with numerous homeless camps in the area. But they do what they can, and the impact is widely felt. It’s sad to see so much need, but heartening to see so many people who want to help and have done so much without government coercion.

Winter Care Packages 2023

Posted on February 7, 2023 by Jeff Perry

Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to our Winter Care Packages charity campaign! Thanks to you, we were able to raise enough money to purchase hundreds of hygiene kits, warm socks, blankets, and winter coats for homeless and needy people.

This year, we distributed through First Fruits, an organization founded and staffed by Missourian Jeffrey Moore. Moore started his efforts by purchasing extra food and taking it to people in shopping bags. As the years passed, he formed partnerships with local businesses, eventually forming into a 501C3 nonprofit.

Although a 501C3 sounds fancy, it’s still just Moore giving out donated items to people. He estimates that there are >3,000 homeless people living between Kansas City and Butler, MO. Now, thanks to your generous donations, he has more coats, socks, gloves, and more to give out to people suffering in the cold Missouri winter. More people helped…because of your voluntary giving! Here’s hoping that next year’s Winter Care Package drive will let us help even more people.

Sleep In Heavenly Peace

Posted on January 5, 2023 by Editorial Team

by Savanna Kaiser

Marshfield community ensures no kid sleeps on the floor

Some Saturday mornings start slow and quiet, but not this one. The hum of generators and the buzz of sanders in the church parking lot is unmistakable. A big project is underway. The air is full of sawdust and the smell of fresh stain. Volunteers from all walks of life have gathered with a common goal — to build beds and meet a need for children in their community.

“When I first heard of the Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) organization, I couldn’t believe this was a real thing. Were there really kids out there who needed beds?” says Alan Balmer, Marshfield SHP chapter president. The need was far greater than he realized. “We were living in Alabama at the time and a colleague of mine who volunteered had me in tears telling me story after story of kids living in really difficult situations. Some were sleeping on the ground, others on piles of clothes or mattresses on the floor.”

In 2020, Alan and his wife, Vickie, moved back home to Marshfield. He shared the idea of SHP with his pastor and soon reconnected with four other local men in his church, who caught his vision. “The five of us guys and a couple of our wives went to San Antonio to go through a two-day training process,” Alan says. “At the end of that, we knew it was something we wanted to do.”

They started their own SHP chapter in March 2021 and in July began delivering beds to foster homes and other families in need. They started out small, serving only the towns of Marshfield and Niangua. When they discovered they were able to keep up and have enough beds in inventory, they started adding a few more ZIP codes. “We now cover every ZIP code in Webster County, as well as a little of Christian, Greene and Laclede,” Alan adds.

The chapter comprises about 20 people, Alan says, but they also rely a lot on the help of local volunteers. “At our last bed build day at First Baptist Church in Marshfield, there were probably 60-plus volunteers.” It was their biggest build to date. Working as a team, they met their goal of completing 60 brand new beds. They typically meet four to five times a year to build more beds.

They set up an assembly line with tables and tools and assign people to different tasks. Volunteers sand the boards to smooth away any splinters and rough edges. From there, the lumber is carried to the drill press station. Next, the pieces are screwed together to form the headboards and bedrails and then dunked in stain.

There’s a job for everyone. Volunteers include men, women and kids. There are retirees, carpenters, building contractors, teenagers and many folks who have no previous building experience. Everyone brings different skill sets to the table. “If it were my responsibility to make sure the bed build actually happened and everything was set up and organized, it would probably never happen. I’m not even that great at building the beds,” Alan says with a laugh. “But I love going on the deliveries and talking to the people.”

During bed builds, some people drive by and apply for a bed on the spot. Others have pulled in and dropped off checks and donations.

“I came to their very second bed build day and I’ve been hooked ever since,” says Steven DeShields of Marshfield. “I’ve been to three or four build days since and they always have me doing something different.”

He’s also gotten to go out on deliveries with them occasionally. “When I saw how excited the kids were to see us, that’s what really made me want to get involved,” says Steven. “They’re usually bouncing off the walls in excitement. It can be hard to calm them down. It makes it really worth it to see the smiles on the kids’ faces.”

Once the beds are finished and loaded on the trailer, they’re ready for delivery. As requests for beds come in, Alan’s crew is quick to respond and schedule a time with each inquiring family. Sometimes the team delivers up to three evenings a week, always after the volunteers finish their day job.

Three or four SHP volunteers arrive at the recipients’ home with arms full of bedding and welcoming smiles. If there’s more than one child receiving a bed, they oftentimes assemble bunk beds for the siblings to share.

All the pieces from the build days are assembled in the kid’s bedroom. Each child receives a new bed frame, mattress, pillow, pillowcase, sheets and blankets. “We like to bring a few different options for the bedding, so the child can pick what they like,” Alan says.

Several quilting groups have donated quilts to them. “There is a men’s correctional facility in Licking who has donated quilts that the men have made,” says Alan. “There’s also an organization called Miracles for Margaret that donates blankets in memory of their daughter. It’s really amazing. We love giving out these comfort blankets and folding them at the end of the bed. The child may want an extra blanket, especially this time of year.”

The Marshfield chapter delivered more than 200 beds in just over a year. When word got out, people started donating. “The community has been so supportive,” Alan says, noting they’ve received grants and donations from individuals, businesses, Webster Electric Foundation, Arvest Bank, Salvation Army, TLC Student Funds and Community Foundation of the Ozarks, just to name a few. “There are several organizations who have really supported us well,” he says.

The average cost of a bed is about $250, including wood, hardware, bedding and mattress. “So many of the bed frames you buy today are made with cheap metal,” Alan adds. “Our beds are very sturdy and built to last a long time.”

To date, there are approximately a dozen Sleep in Heavenly Peace chapters in Missouri, and SHP is actively recruiting more chapters throughout the state. There are approximately 300 chapters nationwide.

“We’d love for the whole state, every city or county, to have one,” Alan says. “For those interested, the No. 1 thing I recommend is watching Mike Rowe’s ‘Returning the Favor’ interview with SHP founder Luke Mickelson. And I’d suggest having a box of Kleenex with you when you do.”

Across the country, the mission is the same. These volunteers want to ensure that no kid sleeps on the floor in their town. Joy lights up the faces of each volunteer and is mirrored in the faces of the children and families they serve. They’re building beds, but they’re also building community.

“It’s something that so many of us have taken for granted our entire lives, but the need is truly there,” Alan says. “We’re doing this because God’s been really good to us and we want to pour out those blessings on other people. I’m just grateful to be a part of it.”

This article was reprinted with permission from Rural Missouri magazine. Visit www.shpbeds.org to learn more, donate, volunteer or apply for a bed. Alan can be reached at alan.balmer@shpbeds.org. To watch the interview with Mike Rowe and Luke Michelson, visit www.mikerowe.com/2018/02/returning-the-favor-sleep-in-heavenly-peace.

Kaiser is a freelance writer from Hartville, MO.

Voluntaryism in Action

Focusing on Voluntary and Free Market Solutions

Tag Archives: Missouri

Books, Coffee, and Charity: The Carpenter’s Cup

Winter Care Packages 2023

Sleep In Heavenly Peace

by Savanna Kaiser