Happy 9th Birthday, On Angels’ Wings!

By Michelle L. Cramer. Founder & Executive Director

Nine years. Geez. I know ‘surreal’ gets overused a lot, but that doesn’t diminish it’s meaning for me. It really is hard to believe that On Angels’ Wing has existed for almost a decade.

Founder, Michelle Cramer, speaks with a patron at OAW booth for its first public event, September 2013.

While you might think that I would save this post for that coveted 10-year mark, this year has a whole lot of significance for me too. First of all, this month marks one full year that the organization has had its first ever office and studio space. It’s not been used as much as we would like it to be, but it’s there and we’re so incredibly grateful – we’re making progress.

I remember when we first moved into the space. We unloaded the storage unit we had maintained for nearly five years and sort of dumped it into the space. A few weeks later, a bunch of us gathered to get things organized. I distinctly recall sitting on the floor in our unfinished space, going through boxes of stuff from our first two years as an organization. There were framed pictures and small albums of some of the first sessions we provided to our first recipient families.

There was a moment where I paused. I looked at those remnants of the early days — I looked around me to see the bustle of boxes being unpacked — and the reality of how far we had come hit me. Our first space was finally a reality. Tears of gratefulness soon followed.

Another reason this year is momentous is the fact that, as of today, I am working full time for the organization. Through a salary support program, I took the leap of faith to resign my full-time job and dedicate that work time to this organization. In reality, I’ve already been putting in a lot of hours each week for OAW, but I now have the freedom to see projects we’ve put on hold due to lack of manpower come to fruition. I can go to meetings and network within the community, raising awareness of our services.

The journey to working for the organization full time started at the end of 2019, when my work load and heart to do more for this organization got the best of me. My husband and I started searching for options and came across The Sending Agency, which would allow me to salary support raise for my Executive Director position. Since I also serve as Treasurer for the organization, we felt it was ethically imperative that my salary come through a different channel.

It’s taken over 18 months to get to a position where my family can financially step out in faith for me to resign my job and focus on my calling. While I’m not 100% funded as of the writing of this post, I know that God will honor my obedience. And I’m just beside myself excited for the opportunity to serve recipient families better!

Not only that, but just in time for our 9th birthday celebration, the book I’ve been working on for over five years has finally published! This is significant because many of the stories of loss within its pages came directly from OAW recipients. Unshattered Grief is not a book about how to grieve, like so many others out there. Instead, it addresses how we impact those grieving with our attempts to help that actually make things worse. It’s a how-to guide for helping someone through a loss without breaking them again. And I’m so grateful for the families that have allowed me to share their stories to bring those points home. Check it out!

Above all else, I am excited for what is to come for On Angels’ Wings. We are working on a lot of things – possible expansion with chapters out of state, a photographer mentorship program, and a massively huge carnival event like Springfield has never seen for our 10th anniversary next year…. As well as what feels like a million visions. Stay tuned because the best really is yet to come!

Happy birthday, OAW!!