THE FOLLOWING IS A THREE KINGS OF PEACE RELEASE
Danville, IL, October 25, 2025 – On the chilly morning of Sat., Oct. 25, in the parking lot of the Danville Lowe’s on N. Vermilion St., more than 50 volunteers manned workstations to learn how to build beds.
Lowe’s has teamed up with a national organization called Sleep in Heavenly Peace (SHP) to build and deliver beds to local residents who have nothing but a floor to sleep on.
CASA’s Dee Ann Ryan helped connect the bed-building charity to Danville after reaching out to Larry Uphoff, the head of the SHP chapter in Mahomet. Mr. Uphoff arranged for the training session with the Danville Lowe’s.
Ms. Ryan then presented the program to Reverend Frank McCullough of the Three Kings of Peace Mentoring Center, which has since become the hub for storing bedding and completed beds. As Rev. McCullough says, “When I see the list of people without beds to sleep on, it’s heartbreaking. I promised Dee Ann that we’d do all we could in our Roselawn Street Center to assist her.”
For the training exercise, the SHP chapter provided a schematic for workstations that included sawing, headboard tapping, slat strapping, hand drilling, sanding, wood staining, and branding. For the latter, grammar-school student Santiago Carmona did the honors of stoking a fire and using a branding iron to burn the SHP logo into each completed bed.
Within three hours, the crew of novices became what SHP Director Uphoff called, “a great team of excellent bed-builders.” For the Oct. 25 training exercise, the group achieved the goal of assembling 20 beds that will be delivered over the next week or so. With at least 80 beds needed to address the current waiting list, the day’s volunteers pledged to engage in future bed-building sessions at Lowe’s.
Lowe’s Assistant Store Manager Rodney Malone enlisted six Lowe’s employees to give guidance to the volunteers. As he said, “Our employees were pleased to help. They appreciate that Lowe’s is 100-percent committed to giving back to the community.”
One of the Lowe’s employees, Jessica Vallad, marveled at how well the volunteers mastered the bed-building craft. “As soon as they arrived, they got right to work,” she says. “I was amazed to see how well they did.”
Along with Ms. Ryan and Rev. McCullough, volunteers included Danville Alderwoman Trish Teague, Three Kings of Peace member Keith Groves, and Ms. Ryan’s daughters Maggie Crane and Katie Osterbur—who brought some of her Peer Court teenagers to help.
Ms. Ryan worked the registration table for volunteers and credits “serendipity and God’s winking” for bringing together SHP, Lowe’s, the Three Kings of Peace, and dozens of volunteers for this humanitarian endeavor. “Danville is a caring and loving community. When Larry (Uphoff) heard that we have a list of so many people without beds, he said that this is where his Chapter’s focus needs to be.”
To join this national organization and to help with the building and distribution of beds, you may sign up on the SHP Web site at www.volunteer.shpbeds.org Or contact Dee Ann Ryan at 217-474-3863 or Frank McCullough at 217-766-8735
