Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP), a volunteer-led organization that builds and delivers beds to children in need, has been providing new, high-quality beds to Columbia children for almost two years now. Kelley Upham, president of SHP’s Columbia chapter, said Community United Methodist Church started the local group and built its first bed in March 2024.
Twin-sized beds are available for children ages 3-17 living in Columbia in a house or apartment large enough to accommodate the new furniture. Each client receives not just the bed, but also new bedding, including pillows and comforters.
Sherri Helm, application manager at SHP, said clubs at different Columbia-based churches have created and donated new quilts as well. “When we leave, the children are able to sleep in the bed that night,” Helm said.
Upham noted that there are countless reasons a child may not have access to a bed, but it’s often due to financial difficulties. She said a mattress, bed frame, and bedding can cost at least $250. And some people may not have the tools to assemble a bed frame or the ability to transport a mattress, resulting in children sleeping on air mattresses, couches, or in their parents’ bed.
Upham and the SHP team have also been to houses with old and unsafe beds or mattresses that need to be replaced. She noted that everything SHP provides to families is brand new and that, before her role with the nonprofit, she never would have realized how happy a new pillow could make somebody who’s become accustomed to using a couch cushion every night.
“We don’t accept anything used. We get calls all the time saying, ‘Oh, I have this, and it’s barely been used.’ But all these kids deserve brand-new stuff,” Upham said.
Helm said there aren’t restrictions on which families can receive a bed since SHP assumes that any person submitting an application is doing so out of need. She calls each applicant to ask about their living situation in order to provide the best bed for each child. For example, she explained, a bunk bed may better suit a family that is requesting two beds but doesn’t have much space for two separate beds.
Helm admitted that before she joined SHP as a volunteer employee, she was completely unaware of the major need to supply beds to children in mid-Missouri. She said Community United Methodist Church hosted a panel with Columbia Public Schools staff, who shared the fact that many schoolchildren lack a regular bed to sleep on every night. Helm hadn’t considered that before the presentation, noting that the ability to sleep in a comfortable and safe bed each night is something many people “take for granted.”
SHP’s national organization is based out of Idaho and advertises the nonprofit’s mission as, “No Kid Sleeps on the Floor in Our Town!” The national organization reported delivering 86,328 beds across the United States with 165,747 volunteers in 2025.
Helm said the nonprofit’s Columbia chapter typically delivers beds one month after somebody sends in an application. However, she added, that isn’t often the case at the beginning of the year.
Shortly after the new year started, Helm said there were 55 applicants in Columbia requesting around 120 beds, creating a backlog for SHP since Helm said the nonprofit delivered all but 18 of the beds by the end of 2025.
Since SHP opened up applications to all of Columbia — originally the nonprofit only provided beds to families in certain city ZIP codes — Helm said she’s seen significantly more applications each month.
Upham’s husband, Andy, build manager at SHP, said the organization has provided almost 350 beds to Columbia children in two years. SHP hosts seven “bed-building days” annually, with the first occuring in March. At those events, volunteers arrive early in the morning to cut and sand the wood pieces in order to assemble each bed in the client’s home.
Helm said SHP’s beds are high quality and will last for several years. Each bed is constructed with sturdy wood, and SHP’s wood stain is created by soaking steel wool in vinegar, yielding a mixture that deters bed bugs but is safe for kids and pets.
Upham noted that Andy involves the children receiving the beds in building them as well. When SHP initially shows up to deliver a bed, she said some children are shy because there are strangers in their house. But they always get excited when asked to carry wood or learn how to use the power tools.
Upham said Andy will often ask the children who built their new bed, and when the children point to him, he reminds them how much work they put in themselves.
“And he’s like, ‘No, you built your bed. You tell your friends you built your own bed,’” she said. “And they just have so much pride knowing that.”
Columbia Chapter Leadership
Kelley Upham, president
Andy Upham, build manager
Sherri Helm, application manager
Al Cannaday, team member
Kimberly Reese, delivery manager
Jenna Wooten, social media manager
Tracy Millsap, team member
Angela Pigg, team member
Ann Toellner, finance manager
Annabelle Simmons, team member
Jen Reese, inventory manager
