I have been in the service of my country for over sixteen years. Spent untold birthdays, Christmases, anniversaries, and other special moments away from my family. I cannot count the amount of months that I have spent away from the ones I love. I, and those like me have chosen the noblest profession in the world, the defense of our country. We have freely given up many of the rights that others take for granted so that we can serve. Some of the people we have sworn to protect do not give us credit or respect that all military members deserve. That is the hardest thing to accept. For when we enter a foreign country and are received with warmth and compassion, despite the circumstances, it is still welcome. When we are better received by those not of our country, it tests our resolve. Then one day when we receive a small gold pin with a Team of Angels on it, the symbol of worth and purpose is returned. For we truly are a team. The soldiers, our families and those we serve are unknowingly united for the same cause. Again, I wish to thank you for the gift of faith and hope. We truly are a Team of Angels.

In September or October of 2006 - you paid a kind and generous visit to the Caron Foundation in Wernersville. I was fortunate to be present for your message. You gave a Team of Angels pin to everyone - probably 300 people. Your angels have been with me every day since. Good days and bad but all sober, just me, my fellow human beings and God (with angels of course). I am reaching the point where my body is almost clear of the physical effects of alcohol. I know the rest of the work will be the journey of a lifetime and I thank you and the Team of Angels for helping me along the path.

As my Team of Angels circulated around the world, requests began to come in from anguished and troubled individuals everywhere. Although I could not afford to give away any more for free, I decided to offer them for sale at a small cost. That was the way, due to the intervention of Divine Providence, I started my own small business at home. My husband takes an active part in my Team of Angels activities guiding me with his business acumen. The children and I began to offer Team of Angels pins for sale at local outlets. And my parents, both 74, assist me in the basement of their house with packaging and shipping. I am now as close to my parents as when I was a child.

King of Prussia Angel Helps Others

I grew up in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, which is a suburb of Philadelphia - located near the historic battlefield of Valley Forge. The King of Prussia Courier ran a story titled "King of Prussia Angel Helps Others." Excerpt: Gallagher received a phone call from Helen, a woman in Camden, NJ, whose husband of 53 years just passed away. Someone had given Helen a Team of Angels pin and she was so touched by the thought. She wanted another one to pass along. After talking to her, Gallagher put her in touch with her single Aunt Mary who now lives alone since the recent death of her brother, whom she had lived with for all of her 82 years. Aunt Mary and Helen kept in touch with each other - brought together by their losses - and with the help of the Angel Pin Lady. Helen wasn't the only one who became a phone friend to Aunt Mary. Three other new Team of Angels friends reached out to offer comfort to my aunt.

What Does Oprah Have to Do with It?

When my friend Terri told me that Oprah had a Team of Angels to guide her, I sent Oprah Winfrey a pin along with a letter of explanation about what the pin meant to me. It was not a well-crafted marketing letter or press release. I just sat down at the kitchen table and penned the words. The letter to Oprah read: Dear Oprah, Stressful events? Reach out to a Team of Angels! I wrote a poem titled "A Team of Angels for the Overwhelmed." After sharing it with friends, I sent it to a local newspaper. Many hurting individuals contacted me and asked if they could reprint it for various support groups. People shared their troublesome and hurtful feelings. They told of the suffering of a present problem or a past one never completely brought to rest. Many told me that my little poem helped them. Often those who called were friends of people who were hurting. They asked if they could photocopy my poem as words of inspiration or encouragement. I found that above all, people wanted to help others. I designed a Team of Angels lapel pin attached to a card with my poem on it. I want it to reach anyone stressed out or disheartened. I don't wish to make a profit, but would like to cover my costs. To me, the idea is to generate a movement similar to Random Acts of Kindness. Mine is called Send a Team of Angels to Help. How does it work? If you would like to brighten someone's day, or reach out to someone in physical or emotional pain, I invite you to send a Team of Angels to help. I hope to hear from you.

— Patricia Gallagher

A producer from the Oprah Show called and said, "This looks interesting. What is it all about?" I explained that I had been overwhelmed, wrote the poem, made the pins and wanted to pass them out to people who also needed a little encouragement to get through life's challenges. She asked, "Are these spreading all over your town? Are lots of people wearing them?" The odd thing is that the letter and pin had been separated in her office - she did not receive both. She asked me to send "A Team of Angels for the Overwhelmed" pin. I guess whoever opened the package kept the pin and the producer ended up with just the letter. I sent another Team of Angels pin but never heard from the producer again. Maybe someone in Oprah's mailroom took that one, as well. (I was a guest on the Oprah Show in 1989 and 1995 to discuss two of my books.)

Passing Out the Pins

What if I could spread the angel joy all over my town? But how would I get the word out? I took a press release and "A Team of Angels for the Overwhelmed" pin to the television station and told them about my desire to share the Team of Angels pin with anyone who needed comfort. The news director from Channel 17 called and wanted to do a segment for the evening broadcast. The cameras rolled as I stood on my front porch passing out the pins. I explained that for one week the pins would be on my porch. Anyone who wanted them could take them. I just asked that they pass them along to someone who needed good cheer. The local newspaper article read in part: It's the little things that can make you feel better: the kind gesture of a stranger, random acts of kindness, and the three gold angels on your shoulder. All over Bucks County, people overwhelmed by life have had their spirits lifted with a little help from above. From Tuesday, February 2 through Tuesday, February 9, Patricia Gallagher is inviting the public to pick up a pin or two from the porch of her home. The pins will be available during daylight hours, from about 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. "A lot of people just have the little every day crisis, and this is a way to say, I'm thinking about you. I hope this brightens your day," said Gallagher.

The first day, lots of people came. I peeked out and watched as folks dropped little messages into the basket and took a pin or two. Then I watched as a man took about fifty pins and placed them in a black leather satchel that he carried over his shoulder. I thought of the cost of each pin and opened the door, ready to diplomatically tell him that there was a two-pin limit. He said, "My wife asked me to pick up a bunch. She needs them for Bingo prizes at the senior center." Another lady took a handful and smiled as she thanked me. "I always like to have little trinkets to place on the top of my Christmas gifts." I didn't want people to take their own personal cache of treasures. I knew then that it was time to grab a black Magic Marker to make a sign saying that you are welcome to take two. And, to please leave a donation in the basket, if you need more. I invited them to come into my home and have a cup of tea. People came in and made themselves at home. We sat in the living room and it was a beautiful sight. Lots of lovely people sharing their lives with strangers.

While Channel 17 News was filming the broadcast, a retired couple pulled up to the curb and yelled from their car window: "I need a couple for Casino and Bingo luck." "I need some pins for the pain in my leg." I also told a local newspaper reporter about my plan to make pins available for the week of February 2 to February 9. I said that there would be two large wicker baskets on my porch. I requested that people write prayer intentions or about their need and place them in the first basket. I took the basket to the altar of the Poor Clares Monastery. In the second large basket were the pins, free for the taking! The reporter wrote a front-page article. The photo showed me passing out the pins while holding the basket outside of my front door. The caption under the large black and white photo read: "Patricia Gallagher is lifting the spirits of those who are overwhelmed by life with the help of her Team of Angels for the Overwhelmed pins and poems." The article was headlined "Angels Inspire When Things are Overwhelming." It was several columns wide.

Dr. Yvonne Kaye is a psychologist as well as an interfaith minister. She hosted a Philadelphia radio talk show. We met when she invited me to be a guest on her program. She loved the pins. As a grief counselor, she knew many people who needed a Team of Angels. She asked if I had a poem for a peaceful soul. I had no idea what that even meant. It is funny how new poems were created to meet the needs of strangers and friends. Often, people would ask if I had a poem for a particular trial. I would get to work lickety-split to write a poem that would uplift those who needed heartfelt words of inspiration.

I signed up to sell them at a church bazaar. At the booth next to mine, a family was selling wreaths. They were intrigued by the Team of Angels for the Overwhelmed pin and poem. "Can we make a trade? You can have one of my wreaths if I can have some of your pins." It sounded like a good idea to me. The mother explained that her husband was a member of AA. Over the next few years, she purchased hundreds of pins for the folks in a 12-Step Recovery Program. I tried a few other bazaars but I never made enough to cover my expenses. There were so many craft items competing for attention that my little angels seemed to get lost. I tried to sell at upscale craft and gift shows but because the Team of Angels was not truly a hand-made craft, I was not accepted to be a vendor.

One Angel Lady Interviews Another

Joan Wester Anderson, the author of the New York Times best-seller "Where Angels Walk" interviewed me for an article on her web site. The headline read: "Patricia Gallagher - a person with a great idea who somehow (with the hidden help of angels) makes it work." She referred to me as a businesswoman. If she had seen me struggling at the post office and being yelled at by postal clerks for the staples that were stabbing them from my poorly-packed packages, she might not have thought that. And how about all of that poor product pricing? Had she asked me, I would not have described myself as a "businesswoman," hardly the successful MBA mom that Joan Wester Anderson envisioned from her office in Illinois. Joan Anderson went on with the interview saying, "Gradually Patricia's kindness and compassion movement grew to new heights. Soon Trish was receiving letters from strangers, most who had received one of her pins at a time of great need."

Angels Among Us

After a mention in Family Circle Magazine, close to 15,000 orders for Team of Angels pins came in and almost all of them included personal heartfelt letters. My dream was coming to fruition - the Team of Angels were finding their way to people who were lonely, tired and had hearts filled with pain. There were some people who requested them who could not afford to send any payment at all. So this is how our small family business began. In the spring, I contacted Family Circle magazine to thank them for the wonderful response to the original article. The editor was thrilled that her "To Our Readers" story touched so many people. She wrote a follow-up article which ran in August. It was titled "Angels Among Us." They asked me to send a photo. My 14-year-old daughter Katelyn snapped a picture of my parents and me in the basement work area. My mother was sitting at the desk (the pool table) and the background of the picture showed our workshop complete with a pegboard with my father's tools, hacksaw, drill, screwdrivers, etc. Certainly not a Madison Avenue looking office in Manhattan. It was printed in color in the August, 2000 issue. The article read: Do you wish you had a Team of Angels to get you through the day? You're not alone. Over 15,000 FC readers have asked Patricia Gallagher for her "Team of Angels" pins that were in the February 1, 2000 issue of FC. Patricia started off by donating 5000 pins plus poems of encouragement to troops stationed in Kosovo, and at one time, she even left a basket of pins on her front porch for anyone in need. "This is what I give back to the world," Patricia says. Her plans for making this a family business are coming true, and her parents are pitching in to fill orders as the rest of her family helps out too. She has been touched by not only the tremendous response, but also by the heartfelt letters people have sent, even payment without a return address but with the request to give pins to those who couldn't afford them. Patricia says that as a family they pray daily for pin recipients. The article ended with my address, and this time, even my phone number. It was exciting to receive all of the orders but overwhelming. Although, they didn't happen all at once, it was still a big project that was trying to be managed without an experienced project manager.

Walter Reed Army Medical Center

Main Line Times and Suburban, 2006

Last summer, Gallagher took her teen-aged son, Ryan, with her on a visit to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, where both gave out pins to soldiers who had been injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. The experience of meeting wounded soldiers gave Ryan Gallagher perspective and an appreciation for the sacrifices being made by members of the armed forces.

450 Pins to San Antonio

A member of the Rotary Club of Central Chester County sponsored my trip to San Antonio. I shared 450 Team of Angels pins attached to a bookmark bearing the poem A Team of Angels to Thank our United States Armed Forces. (Brooke Army Medical Center, Fisher House at Lackland Air Force Base, where soldiers and their families can stay during their recovery; Audie Murphy Memorial VA Hospital; the Cancer Ward at Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland, and met with Blue Star Mothers (mothers whose children are currently serving). We also shared a meal with Gold Star Mothers whose children died while serving the USA.)

It Was a Team Effort

Who helped me prepare the Team of Angels for the soldiers? Many volunteers helped me attach the pins to the cards and add handwritten notes. Lou Ann from Phoenixville, Melanie and her daughter from the Main Line, and The Upper Perkiomen Seniors were just a few of the earth angels who rallied to help. They packaged the bookmarks in attractive cellophane bags tied at the top with curly ribbons, and red, white and blue ties. Parishioners from Queen of the Apostle Church wrote notes of encouragement that we included in the package. KenCrest Services also devoted many hours to assist. It was a team effort!

Fifteen Minutes Away

“Where do you live? What town?” I asked. Upon hearing her response, I said: “I am so close to that area. I am near the church. Maybe I am being too forward, but would you like me to stop by and bring a pin?” “That would be great but I am still in my pajamas,” she said. “How about if I come in fifteen minutes?” I went in the church so Carla could have fifteen minutes to get dressed. There was a funeral Mass going on at the church. I sat for a few minutes as the priest and friends described the woman as an angel, a young nurse in her twenties. I gave some pins to the funeral director for the family and left a bag in the back of the church.

The Phone Rang Again and Again

There were days after a newspaper article ran that my phone rang again, and again and again...a Team of Angels was needed for a lady who works for children mistreated, “pray for my son and his wife - whose marriage is falling apart,” a VA soldier battling alcoholism, someone suffering with a migraine, a two-year-old with a stomach tumor, someone stuck in a lousy job, and loads of people who were lonely and discouraged. Many of the voices on the phone calls still echo within me.

Angels Along the Way Good Will Tour

How was I feeling when my son and I embarked on our self-styled “Angels Along the Way Good Will Tour?” Today, I was feeling especially happy. My handsome son, age 16 and his middle-aged mom were traveling together - with a message to hang on to hope. And the sixteen-year-old was enjoying every moment of our adventure. I knew this would probably be the last year he would want to go with me, what with his girlfriend, a summer job at Wendy's and sports camps. I knew a trip like this together was something to be cherished.

A lot of families seemed to be at the end of their rope. The war in Iraq was going on, the news told of a man killed in a local accident, then there was the lady with deep depression, and how about the three sick lonely widows in Philadelphia? And on the same day, we heard from the lady bedridden in need of a wheelchair (cared for by a very mean nurse), someone whose nephew was leaving for Iraq, and a man that had just been given a message from his doctor “I am sorry there is nothing more we can do for you.”

No Fancy RV, Just a Gold Van

All of the suffering people in the news and those that I knew personally were probably why I loaded up the van that summer with boxes of the Team of Angels pins that I created and a few suitcases of personal items and set out on my self-styled ANGELS ALONG THE WAY GOOD WILL TOUR. It might sound like some big-time fancy tour, like the type Dolly Parton would go on, traveling in a slick RV. The truth of the matter was the Angels Along the Way Good Will Tour “headquarters” was just little ole' me working out of my kitchen using my pantry closets to store Team of Angels pins. My laundry room hampers separated the poem verses by type. We had no fancy RV, just a bright gold van rented for a month from Budget.

You Can't Beat the Price at the Holiday Inn

I took a break from passing out the pins at a Holiday Inn restaurant and in my haste to run to the ladies room, I dropped a basket of Team of Angels pins. A kind lady stooped down and helped me pick them up. “I guess you were meant to have them!” She thanked me and happily walked away. I still had a few weeks of traveling left. I wandered back to the restaurant praying silently. “Please bless all of these children, and the teenage boy, and the sick couple. God, if you want me to continue to do this, please give me a sign. If I have faltered and I am totally off-track thinking this is Your Will, please send me in a different direction. God, if you want me to be employed, please give me a real job.”

While eating my muffin, the lady who helped me pick up the fallen pins stopped at our table. I told her a little about what we were doing in her town. She was the restaurant manager. She was wearing her pin and brought the waiters and waitresses over to chat. They were all wearing the angel pins that were in the basket. Lots of people gathered around reading the selection of different poem verses. I watched as people attached the lapel pin to their outfits or tucked the poem in their pockets. I watched as the manager passed out pins to customers. It was time to pay our check for breakfast. Ryan and I had probably charged about twenty dollars and all of the ladies who visited at the table had coffee, orange juice and muffins. “God, give me one little sign.” The restaurant manager came over and said, “Your breakfast is on the house - no charge” and the hotel manager gave us our room for free. I stared at the manager in disbelief. You can't beat the price at the Holiday Inn!

A Wounded Soldier's Story

E was originally from another country, and is now an American citizen. A bandage poked out from the back of his T-shirt. “I thank my mother for all her prayers and Masses. When I got shot, I was holding my rosary in my pocket. That is the last thing I remember. I was thinking I got to try to stand up. I can't go back to my mom and tell her that I can't walk. I have two daughters, 14 and 5. The first call was to my daughter telling her that her dad was shot in the back. Thank God the bullet stopped because I have a hole this big in my back. Mom, it was all your prayers and Masses and the holy rosary in my hand that protected me when I got shot. It's nothing but a miracle. I couldn't feel my toes. I couldn't move my legs. I was bleeding. They had to work on me without anesthesia because they had to see what I could feel. They thought I might be paralyzed. Cleaning up was more painful than being shot. I could feel the scalpel going through my skin. When they said that, I tried to stand up. They told me to lie down. I told them if I was going to be paralyzed, I wanted to stand up one more time. You come to a point that you are here now and you pray to God and just give God time. The wound was one inch by 3/4 inch. Mom, it's all the praying you are doing back in my country.”

Your article in the magazine was so impressing that I cried when I read it. I feel sometimes that I am the only one going through difficulties but I realized that everyone on earth is an angel and through our difficulties or hardships we become stronger. My best friend's granddaughter was a loving, giving and caring young woman. She never complained, au contraire, she smiled all the time. This year she was going to be a senior in high school. Unfortunately, she never had the chance to live her life to enjoy all that she had planned. I miss her so much. This Christmas was hard for us. I hope someday we have the chance to meet each other and share great moments and bad moments. I feel that sharing your experiences of everyday life strengthens your belief that there are angels out there after all.

A Meeting at the Ballpark

On September 22, in a crowd of 46,634 people at a Phillies vs. Marlins game, I met two vets who had received my Team of Angels at the Coatesville VA Medical Center - one wearing it on his hat. In the middle of Ryan Howard's home run, the former paratrooper called his nephew. “You're not going to believe who I am sitting with - the lady who makes the angel pins.” (We invited them for Thanksgiving dessert that year - and they came!)

Look Out for the Lady in the Gold Van

Our story about the Angels Along the Way Good Will Tour was covered in ten newspapers, two nightly newscasts, and one morning news broadcast. From Florida to Massachusetts, through the heart of Appalachia into West Virginia and Ohio, people were told to look out for the lady in the gold van, and request a free Team of Angels pin. As the article appeared in each town, folks called my cell phone saying they needed a Team of Angels to help with their need.

A Preposterous Idea Over a Late Night Cup of Tea

2006

I was a regular middle-aged mom. A mom who while having a late night cup of tea and a toasted cinnamon bun in February came up with a preposterous idea. On that wintry night, I sat on my living room couch and thumbed through old inspirational issues of Guideposts and Angels on Earth magazines. I had a million thoughts about the viability of taking an angelic-inspired trip. I read about other people who walked in faith to start a project, business or ministry. Could there be any rational reason for traipsing along the east coast of the USA passing out thousands of angel pins and poems? Rhetorically, the answer was a resounding YES. Why in the name of Heaven would my teenage son and I decide to pursue such a venture? It sounded like a perfectly good idea to me. It made sense to me. I believed that I was following an answer to a question I had asked God. How can I use the gifts you have given me? What do you want to do with a woman like me?

A Welcome in Orlando

A Florida Catholic newspaper announced that Ryan and I were going to visit Orlando. A Catholic News Service article told the Angels Along the Way Good Will story and it was carried in many newspapers nationwide. I knew we were off to a good start when a Disney employee called. I felt love and warmth over the phone even before meeting her. She read of our campaign to spread hope. She said, “I would like you and Ryan to be my guests.” Although the newspaper said Ryan and I would be traveling south, we had added two more to our traveling clan in the van for this leg of the journey - my husband John and Ryan's friend Dale were all packed and ready to go. She gave us complimentary passes to all Disney properties, for four people, for two days. I gave her lots of Team of Angels pins and she gave me a beautiful windchime that she crafted herself.

Do You Need Hope?

I saw a flickering light in the distance and drove to see if it was an ambulance. Ryan and his friend Tyler and I were traveling in a northeastern city. I went up to the EMT in the parking lot and asked if the building was a hospital Emergency Room. “This is a shelter,” she replied. I told Ryan and Tyler to keep the car doors locked as I gathered my Team of Angels pins and stuffed them into a bag. I walked over to a young woman sitting on a gritty looking step. With my heart pumping loudly, I smiled and said, “Do you need hope? Do you want an angel pin?” We stayed for about an hour and passed out lots of angel pins.