FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 20, 2021
On Angels’ Wings
Michelle Cramer, Executive Director
[email protected]
417-834-3670
Open to the public again, the carnival saw pre-pandemic numbers!
Springfield, Missouri: On Angels’ Wings (OAW), a Missouri non-profit, hosted its 9th annual Making Memories Day carnival event on Saturday, June 4th at New Covenant Academy’s Warrior Campus.
OAW recipient families with medically fragile children obtained exclusive access an hour before the public and then participated in a butterfly release honoring their children passed and still fighting before the carnival officially kicked off.
Approximately 350 people were in attendance at the event during the two hour public access. Popular activities included the bounce houses from Jumping Jacks Events, face painting, the Smooch a Pooch booth from C.A.R.E. Animal Rescue, the selfie-mirror provided by Elevate Entertainment, the cake walk with cupcake prizes from The Urban Cup, Super-Man and princesses from Princesses of the 417, a lip-syncing contest, and a tug-of-war that left everyone with sore muscles and giggles.
The Making Memories Day carnival was sponsored by Junior League of Springfield, Mercy, Compassus, NewStream Enterprises, KSGF 104.1/Summit Media, Lamar Advertising, Kids Directory, CHC Home Center, Guaranty Bank, and Sam’s Club on East Sunshine.
On Angels’ Wings founder and executive director, Michelle Cramer, says that the longstanding tradition of the carnival is one of her favorite services OAW provides. “It’s one of my greatest joys to see our recipient families who have gone through unimaginable loss, or who must help their child fight a life-threatening diagnosis every day, come to this event and find joy and build memories together,” she says. “And we relish the opportunity to give the entire community the chance to also create memories with their families in a fun way.”
“At Making Memories Day, we feel like we can celebrate Freya’s memory with our sons, as opposed to only sharing the sadness that she is gone,” says OAW recipient CJ Woolf. “Nolan has enjoyed it the past two years, and it is one of the traditions we look forward to continuing every year, honoring our baby girl.”
Next year, in honor of the organization’s 10th birthday, the carnival is set to be bigger and better than ever, with an afternoon event for families and an evening event for adults only. Both will include a costume contest, fun games, a full-fledged DJ experience and much more. The public is urged to mark their calendars for June 24, 2023; more information to follow soon.
_______________________________
On Angels’ Wings is a Missouri non-profit organization that seeks to improve the mental health and wellness of families with medically fragile children (regardless of race, ethnicity, class status or orientation) through therapeutic photography and grief recovery services, free of charge. oawphoto.org
