More than 16,000 children have lost a military or first responder parent since Sept. 11 and Joe Lewis and his wife, Shelli, wanted to find a way to support them and their future.
Retired Lt. Col. Lewis served in the military for 25 years as an enlisted Army field artillery cannon crewman, a Marine Corps fighter pilot, and an Air Force Reconnaissance pilot. During those years, he saw many of his fellow military brothers and sisters lose their lives, leaving their family behind.
After leaving the military, he wanted to continue to serve in some way but didn’t know how.
It wasn’t until he was watching his sons play soccer that he realized what his next act of service would be.
“What about the children of my fellow men who lost their lives serving?” he thought. “Who is playing soccer with them or leading them through their lives?”
In 2012, he began the nonprofit Angels of America’s Fallen to address the gap in support he saw for the children of his fallen friends in all branches of the military as well as first responders.
There was no program providing opportunities for the children to be engaged in healthy activities the entire year, with long-term support every year of their childhood, and in-between initial grief counseling and scholarships once they became adults.
Angels of America’s Fallen was designed to offer positive outlets for the children’s grief during the entire period of these most crucial developmental years.
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Karen Kantor, the development director for the nonprofit, said Angels of America’s Fallen pairs children with mentors to engage them in healthy activities such as sports, leadership opportunities, and the arts.
Engaging in frequent interactions with their coach or instructor, it can help the kids avoid becoming withdrawn and depressed.
“There are so many risk factors out there; drugs and alcohol, suicide, and we want to prevent that by engaging these kids closer to the community and school doing extracurricular activities,” Kantor said. “We want to give them avenues of becoming healthy youth. By having this mentorship, we are building resiliency.”
The nationwide nonprofit is currently serving 420 children, but Kantor said its goal is to get that number to 450 by the end of the year.
“We are serving most families who are at or below the poverty level because they can’t pay their bills and also give their kids the opportunity to do extracurricular activities,” Kantor said. “These kids don’t get the same opportunities as their peers.”
In many cases, the military member’s spouse is unemployed at the time of their spouse’s loss and is trying to stay afloat, according to Kantor. Between navigating their grief and also trying to financially provide for their kids, it’s tolling.
People like Emma are just one of many kids that have received a better life due to Angels of America’s Fallen.
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Emma lost both her father and mother when her father succumbed to his PTSD. Emma developed empathy for the other Angels and their journey through loss. Now 15 years old, and a nationally ranked hula dancer, she began teaching hula lessons online to other Angels when the COVID-19 shutdown began.
“Though I love my classmates in high school, none of them have gone through what I have,” she said.
Emma has now developed an Angel Peer Support Blog, which allows the Angels to connect, process everyday happenings, support one another through grief and celebrate one another’s success.
Angels of America’s Fallen is completely supported by individual donors, corporate/organizational donors, and grants.
One important event that is held yearly is the “Angels gala” which was started by a widow who lost her husband from PTSD suicide. The gala brings in the largest revenue for the nonprofit and focuses its attention on being a celebration for the kids.
At the event, the kids in the program speak to attendees about their journey through grief and how Angels of America’s Fallen has benefited them.
“The more we grow and have supporters, the more families we gain in need,” Kantor said. “We want to serve every child, but the biggest barrier is funding.”
There are currently 400 kids on the waitlist, which continues to grow every week.
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It costs $2,500 per year for the nonprofit to support one child. Once the child has been enrolled in the program, they are part of it until they turn 19 or they decide to drop out.
Kantor said the nonprofit decided not to partner with the VA because it would limit what families it could serve.
“The two areas we receive the most referrals is PTS related suicide and toxic exposures, and those are rarely covered by VA benefits,” Kantor said. “We didn’t want to restrict who we could help.”
With the help of partners and donations, Angels of America’s Fallen has been providing 1,100 activity sessions per month nationwide, and more than 100,000 in total since the nonprofit’s inception.
“People are getting involved with this nonprofit because they want to honor their fallen brothers and sisters,” Kantor said. “They are giving kids the possibility of a powerful future.”
Angels of America’s Fallen is continually working to find more ways to help these children, but with only 3 full-time and 2 part-time staff all located in the same geographic area, the nonprofit knows it needs to get more boots on the ground.
To increase capacity, local chapters will be formed in the areas that the nonprofit serves in order to build relationships within the communities where pockets of the program is already located.
Atlanta, Ga., will be the first chapter launch, with California and Texas to follow after.
Texas serves 26 Angels with 115 still on the waitlist, and California serves 40 with 99 on the waitlist.
With the company growing so quickly every year, Kantor said it’s crucial that the nonprofit do everything possible to give all the kids on the waitlist a chance.
“We pride ourselves for being the program that can say ‘yes’ to children,” Kantor said. “If someone was willing to put their life on the line for us, to honor them we will support their children.”