By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
What started in a spare bedroom has grown into a lifeline for veterans in Wood County.
Angels in Arms, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting local veterans, recently celebrated the opening of its new, expanded location with a Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce-hosted ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by community members, volunteers, and veterans whose lives have been touched by the organization.
The move to a 3,350-square-foot facility at the Woodland Mall, 1234 N. Main St., Bowling Green, marks a major milestone for a group that began with a simple mission: make sure no veteran feels forgotten.
Founder and president Mark Shamp launched Angels in Arms in 2019 from his home. What began as a small effort to help veterans quickly grew beyond the walls of that spare bedroom.
“We had everything in there,” Shamp said. “The merchandise, the food pantry, financial assistance—everything. My wife finally said she wanted her bedroom back.”
The organization moved into a small, 1,105-square-feet storefront in the mall. It was perfect as a start; however, within two years, they had outgrown that space as well.
The new location, in the south arm of the mall, allows the organization to serve more veterans and expand its services. The store space is massive, filled with merchandise for sale, a flag-filled wall honoring local veterans, and an area for visitors to sit, relax and chat with others.
At the heart of the new space is a significantly larger food pantry run by Shamp’s wife, Marylou, along with volunteers Margie Stewart and Liz Sworden. Like all of the services available through Angels in Arms, the pantry provides food and personal care items to veterans, law enforcement, EMTs, paramedics, fire fighters and their families who are struggling to make ends meet.
In December alone, Angels in Arms fed 139 veteran families. The organization also provides special assistance during holidays, purchasing full meals and gifts for families who might otherwise go without.
“We try really hard to give them enough for a month,” Marylou Shamp said. “Not just a week.”
Shelves inside the pantry are stocked with everything from canned goods and cereal to hygiene products and coffee. The most requested items might surprise some people.
“Butter, bread, and rice,” Marylou Shamp explained. “Rice goes a long way. Some families have 11 people in the house.”
Many of the supplies come from community donations. Individuals drop off groceries, local businesses host fundraisers, and corporate partners provide bulk food deliveries. Shamp said that generosity is what keeps the organization running.
“It’s a little bit of everything,” she said. “We have people who go shopping and leave bags of food outside our door.”
But Angels in Arms offers more than just food. The organization helps veterans with rent, utilities, and car repairs—basic needs that often become overwhelming during the difficult transition from military service to civilian life.
Dan O’Herron knows that transition well.
A Bowling Green native and Army veteran who served for 4 ½ years and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011, O’Herron was the first veteran helped by Angels in Arms. Today, he volunteers with the organization, giving back to the same community that once helped him.
“I do it because a lot of veterans feel alone,” O’Herron said. “A lot of veterans feel displaced once they come home and don’t feel like they have a true place where they can be themselves and talk about what’s going on in their heads.”
For many service members, the return to civilian life can be unexpectedly difficult.
“When you’re in the military, everything is structured,” O’Herron said. “Everything is scheduled and the whole group works together. When you come back, everything is on you. It’s a big transition.”
That sense of lost camaraderie is one reason Angels in Arms focuses on building community as much as providing material support.
The organization also helps veterans navigate emergencies. Recently, volunteers assisted a man in his 70s who had left an abusive relationship by helping furnish his new apartment.
They have also helped numerous veterans repair vehicles so they can get to work.
“You wouldn’t believe how many people are behind on rent and utilities,” Stewart said. “It’s sad.”
For Stewart, the work is deeply personal.
“How do we let somebody that served our country starve?” she asked.
Despite the challenges, the volunteers remain focused on their mission: supporting veterans without political division.
“We’re not a political store,” Stewart said. “We keep that out of it because we’re all Democrats, Republicans, black, white—veterans are veterans. That’s what’s important.”
The organization’s rapid growth reflects a growing demand for services, but it also highlights something else: a strong community willing to help.
“I think everybody is beaming, seeing what has happened from the previous location,” said Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mary Hinkelman said at the beginning of the ribbon cutting. “We thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing this for our veterans. It is such a great service. You are an essential part of the community.”
Local partnerships have played a key role, from food donations to discounted auto repairs for veterans. Every donation, no matter how small, can make a difference.
And for the people behind Angels in Arms, that difference is exactly why they keep going.
“Somebody has to help them,” Stewart said. “You can’t forget our veterans.”
With its expanded space and continued community support, Angels in Arms hopes to ensure that no veteran in Wood County ever feels forgotten again.
