An Angel For All Soldiers

DANBURY — The Freedom Angel Foundation, based in Roxbury, will unveil its nearly completed sculpture “The Freedom Angel” on Memorial Day Monday, May 30, at Danbury Mall. It will remain on view until June 12, to raise public awareness of the medical and social needs of returning veterans as well as to assist them in their journey back to civilian life.

“The Freedom Angel” is a seven-foot clay sculpture. Visitors to the Backus Avenue mall will have the unique opportunity to observe sculptor Sterett-Gittings Kelsey at work as she refines and finishes the angel’s details. Ms Kelsey has created the sculpture to be a symbol that recognizes the sacrifices made by the men and women in military uniform have made on behalf of the country’s citizens.

“The Freedom Angel” celebrates America and the men and women who protect her, said Freedom Angel Foundation Board Member and Roxbury First Selectman Barbara Henry.

“She gives those of us who stand on the sidelines, the opportunity to play a small part in helping our returning Veterans and their families. This is our way of saying thank you, gratefully showing our appreciation for their sacrifices and providing assistance for the many challenges they face,” said Ms Henry.

The sculpture was commissioned by the foundation to promote its mission.

Ms Kelsey’s bronze masterworks can be found in more than 300 public and private collections, here and abroad.

When finished, the clay sculpture will be cast in bronze by the Polich Tallix Foundry in Newburgh, N.Y. Plans for a Freedom Angel multi-city tour to promote the foundation’s mission are in the works. The foundation is hoping the sculpture will become a new national symbol, one that will be branded and which could be produced in any number of collectible forms or applied to myriad products. Proceeds, in the form of grants, will go to established organizations addressing the special medical and social needs of American veterans.