“A lot of what you lose when you leave the military is the sense of ‘team’,” says Amy Palmer, president and CEO of Soldiers’ Angels in San Antonio, TX. Her work is about reminding our armed forces that they have a team behind them, even after their time of service is over. As one of eleven children in her family, becoming a soldier at age eighteen, and continuing to forge community through a number of initiatives and nonprofits, Palmer has spent her life as a team player. Her influence is both deep and wide, based in compassion for others. One of her friends nominated her for the Mother Theresa’s Caring Award — an accolade she shared with the Dalai Lama that same year. Though she didn’t found Soldiers’ Angels, she is guiding the organization into a new era, helping more people than ever in her city and around the world. Soldiers’ Angels Soldiers’ Angels provides relief and resources to active military, veterans, and military families. Founded by the famous General George S. Patton’s family members, the organization began as a way to send care packages to soldiers in post 9/11 Iraq. Armed forces overseas don’t typically enjoy the basic comforts of home (i.e., preferred toiletries brands, snacks, blankets, etc.). Soldiers’ Angels gives people all over the country an opportunity to “adopt” a soldier, get to know him or her personally, and provide homelike comfort from afar. After ten years in operation, the organization swelled to over 180,000 volunteers. But over time, lacking ample financial support, Soldiers’ Angels was nearly forced to close. Palmer, a veteran herself, fell in love with the mission of Soldiers’ Angels and didn’t want to see it crumble. The founder’s retirement was imminent, and when she asked Palmer to take the helm, the path forward was clear. Palmer has spent her time fixing what was broken and updating the mission for the current cultural and economic landscape. Home Base After Palmer’s husband — also in the military — was reassigned, their family moved to San Antonio. The city became the new base of operations for Soldiers’ Angels, relocating from its previous home in Pasadena, CA. Palmer loves living in San Antonio and considers it the perfect launching pad for Soldiers’ Angels initiatives. There are nearly 100,000 veterans in the city, including many who are homeless or living in poverty. Soldiers’ Angels hires veterans and brings in thousands of volunteers to help those who have served both at home and abroad. Even though Soldiers’ Angels is a national organization, they do tremendous amounts of work for their city, from working with the Military Affairs Committee, to collaborating with other local organizations, to gathering volunteers and making boxed lunches for homeless veterans, and so much more. Soldiers’ Angels isn’t just helping people overseas; they know the power and necessity caring for home base. A Team Effort Veterans Affairs or “the VA” is the most well known government agency focused on assisting veterans. These days, their work is more difficult than ever. Palmer points out that because of modern medical care, more veterans came home from Iraq. Obviously, that’s a good thing, but it also means that an under-resourced VA is responsible for more veterans than at any other time in history. Saving a soldier’s life is not the same thing as maintaining his or her quality of life. Many of them still come home injured, sick, destitute, or with few employment options outside of military service. The VA is doing its best to work in an oversaturated system. People blame a lack of government funding and programs for helping veterans, but the VA has never faced problems on this scale. If the challenge is left entirely up to them, they will never be able to accommodate the needs of our service members and their families. It is easy to be hypercritical of what isn’t working, but in our frustration, we often miss a key point that defines Palmer’s work: it is better to ask how we can improve something and get involved than to stand on the sidelines and throw stones. “The VA does what they can do…They have access to veterans we wouldn’t be able to touch if we weren’t working with them,” says Palmer. By teaming up with organizations and volunteers in San Antonio and across the United States, Soldiers’ Angels is helping thousands of soldiers and veterans across the globe. Reminding them that they are not forgotten, providing them with little pieces of home even when they are far away, helping them assimilate into civilian life when the battle is over — these things can only be accomplished if everyone works together. Joining the Team Palmer isn’t pointing fingers; she’s locking hands with other people in the trenches and offering others the same opportunity. She asks, “How can we make what they’re doing better? How do we enhance it?” Palmer’s work to revitalize an organization that was already doing so much good reminds us that we can build on the foundations laid by those who’ve gone before us to do incredible things in our cities and in our world. “All of us can do the work on a local level, and we can see the impact up close.” If we aren’t seeing the impact, then maybe we just need to get a little closer to the action.
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