DRUG ADDICTION, NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS, BRAIN TUMORS, CANCER SUPPORT GROUPS, SELF-HELP

Patricia Gallagher, 215-272-1933, yngsparro@aol.com

I WENT ON A 7000 MILE ROADTRIP TO SPREAD HOPE AND ENCOURAGEMENT:

I never thought that I would be wandering around cities at 11 pm passing out angel pins. But there I was, meeting people: junkies, a mother of a young woman arrested for prostitution twice in one day, and a lady who had been hit 50 times in the head. Even a man saying “No one will get hurt, I need money for my baby.” That isn’t what I had in mind when I began my 7000-mile trek. I called my trip THE ANGELS ALONG THE WAY GOODWILL TOUR and had a sign company put those words and my web site address (www.teamofangels.com) on my van’s rear window.

Back in February, I decided to spend the summer traveling around the country. I hired a high school student to make a web site and then contacted military bases, the Katrina flood relief services and lots of newspapers. I believed in myself and what I wanted to do but obstacles kept popping up –mainly the financial side of it. How would I travel? Where would I stay? How would I pay for food? And also the people side of it: the dream busters who whispered that I was going through an identity crisis – “who does she think she is? The great white hope? She’s just a middle-aged mom who needs to get her head out of the clouds and get a job!”

I tried contacting car dealerships to ask if they would like to sponsor the tour by lending me a van for the summer and also spent hours trying to garner the support of hotel managers to offer a complimentary room; all was in vain. The more I talked to people, the crazier my dream seemed. I kept hearing this refrain in my mind: “Just travel and do good. Get up, get out, and get going.”

I finally bit he bullet, applied for a Discover credit card and rented a new gold van from Budget Rent-A-Car. I had magnetic signs made for the side panels and added 50 magnetic stars and angels. The signs on the side doors said NEED A TEAM OFANGELS? OVERWHELMED? Ask us for a free angel pin and then kindly pass it along. A second sign read NEED HOPE? with the pass along message repeated.

Leaving from our Philadelphia suburb, I felt a great sense of anticipation and wondered what our immediate future held. It didn’t take long until the black vehicle in front of me moved me to tears.