ANGELS OF AMERICAS FALLEN

Our program supports children of our fallen during the critical developmental years between loss of their parent and adulthood. We cover the cost of participation in healthy developmental activities including sports, music, art, and technology. We empower the child to find their particular stress relief and passion, and our culture is centered on saying "Yes" to their chosen activity if possible. The simple guideline is for the activity to be healthy or developmental in nature, and have an adult coach or instructor who can provide mentoring. The cost of registration, supplies, or equipment required for participation is covered. We have supported activities including gymnastics, dance, art, soccer, football, cooking classes, karate, mixed martial arts, trumpet, swimming, and piano.

Some other programs provide initial counseling or college scholarships; often for children of combat fallen only. We fill a critical gap by providing long term developmental support during the middle when needed most. We support not only the children of combat fatalities, but also the children who lose their parent to training accidents, illness, and suicide. We honor our fallen the same, regardless of how the blank check they wrote was cashed. To each child, the loss of mom or dad is a devastating loss of their biggest mentor regardless of the cause.

Any child whose parent dies while on active duty qualifies, as we recognize the sacrifice each child of our fallen suffers, regardless of the cause of their parents death. We support children from time of loss up to adulthood (0-18 yrs).

Our program is much more than just providing activities; we don’t just make a payment, we send a personal letter to each child explaining why we support them and how we honor and recognize the sacrifice their fallen parent made for our country. In recognizing the children as an Angel of AOAFallen, we seek also to recognize the sacrifice they themselves are making and to reassure them with our commitment of sticking with them until they are 18 years old. We encourage them to stay in touch with us and let us know how they are doing, and to let us know if they want to switch activities later. We want them to find the right fit for their needs, now and in the future, as their needs change with time.

Additionally, each child receives a personalized dog tag, a challenge coin, and AOAFallen stickers. The connection is much more personal than writing a check to pay for an activity. What we provide is much more than just the activity itself. We honor the children’s fallen hero, and acknowledge their loss, but we focus on possibilities and positives out there for the children.