SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio non-profit that offers aid to families in crisis has turned ten years old. On Saturday, its founder and community leaders came together to celebrate.
“Look who just came in.” Eagle’s Flight Advocacy and Outreach CEO Pamela Allen stopped in the middle of her speech to greet two more guests as they arrived.
“Your table's right here ma'am,” Allen said before turning back to address the rest of the people gathered at the San Antonio Zoo’s Beastro for the anniversary.
Allen is marking a major milestone. Ten years ago, she started her non-profit Eagle's Flight Advocacy and Outreach.
Allen founded the organization after struggling to figure out how to advocate for a child with autism.
"Long ago, I was in broadcasting, and this was not a field that I thought that I would go into.” Allen said. “And then my son was diagnosed with autism, and that kind of set me on a different path.”
Eagle’s Flight is probably most known for its work providing burials for children who died as a result of abuse or neglect. She took up that cause a few months after founding Eagle’s Flight when a newborn was discovered in a duffel bag in a waste management facility. The infant was found close to Christmas, so she adopted him and named him Noel so she could give him a proper burial.
Allen said the real goal of Eagles Flight is helping families in crisis. All the work done by the non-profit falls under that umbrella. That includes providing food, clothing, and additional resources to families in need, giving emergency shelter from abusive relationships or trafficking, helping the elderly and disabled with necessities and promoting Texas’ Baby Moses Law, which just saw a major expansion for the first time in 20 years.
Allen said she originally bought the name all the way back in 2002.
“But it just wasn't the right time,” she said. “Buying the name was one thing, but to be able to actually step out into it, it wasn't until 2013 that we became an actual nonprofit.”
But, she said her community aid efforts went even further back.
"I used to be known in the 80’s as the bread lady here in San Antonio,” Allen said. “I worked with H-E-B to get bread to people under the bridge."
Allen is even using the nonprofit’s 10-year anniversary as a fundraiser for their Season of Giving event which allows people to sign up to receive free food for a thanksgiving meal.
Even on my birthdays, we celebrate by making sure we're reaching out to others,” she said. “This is a big honor and a privilege to be able to serve so many.”
Even on a day to look back, Allen can't help but keep those eagle eyes focused on what's ahead.
“It's been pretty amazing,” she said. “We look forward to celebrating the next ten.”