Stacy Douglas has served Sioux Falls, SD, for more than two decades as a letter carrier. Two years ago, when the lifelong South Dakotan learned of a pressing community need — providing beds for children — she didn’t even have to sleep on it.
The Sioux Falls chapter of the national charity Sleep in Heavenly Peace was reopening in 2024 after a COVID-19 pandemic hiatus, and a friend recruited Douglas to volunteer with building, delivering and assembling beds, as well as drumming up donations of new mattresses, protectors, sheets, comforters and pillows.
It took only one delivery to connect with the organization’s mission on a deeply personal level.
“It was for a 16-year-old boy,” Douglas recalled, “And he told me this was the first bed he’d ever had. That really spoke to me because my son was the same age. I was blown away by how appreciative this young man was. He was so grateful for something that most of us take for granted. That really touched my heart.”
Since reopening, the Sioux Falls group — one of more than 200 Sleep in Heavenly Peace chapters — has delivered more than 850 beds, each one illuminating unseen needs behind closed doors.
“The effect it has on these kids is remarkable. I’ve had them tell me they’ve slept on the floor, on an air mattress, a pool float, a pile of clothes, on couches, a blanket,” Douglas said. “I just had a friend, a teacher, seeking help for a student who sleeps in the bathtub.”
Families can request a bed on the organization’s website. Deliveries are typically made in under two weeks, thanks to a whirlwind of volunteer activity behind the scenes, including “build days,” hosted by local businesses and churches, that focus on cutting lumber, predrilling holes, sanding and staining frames, and putting together headboards.
Upon delivery, volunteers will often find an extra pair of hands excited to help with final assembly: those of the young recipients themselves.
The connection Douglas feels to the cause has resonated with postal colleagues, too. She led 2024 and 2025 holiday season donation drives that resulted in more than100 bedding sets, as well as numerous mattress protectors, comforters and pillows. Her co-workers have also been inspired to help with bed deliveries.
“It’s amazing when our postal community comes together like this,” said Douglas, who also serves as the South Dakota state president for the National Association of Letter Carriers. “Clerks, management, carriers — everyone has pitched in and made a big difference for kids in Sioux Falls.”
And supporting Sleep in Heavenly Peace has become more than just a postal family affair. Douglas now counts her husband and her son among her fellow volunteers.
“My son does deliveries with me,” Douglas said. “He’s really moved by the impact this has on kids. And I like how I’m passing this down to him, imparting how important it is to give back to our community.”
This article originally appeared in the July 2026 issue of The Eagle magazine.
