Silver Wings (service organization)

Silver Wings is a student, professional organization dedicated to developing civilians' leadership skills and providing service to their community. Each chapter consists of college (undergraduate through graduate) students at different universities who volunteer together to help at various non-profit organizations within their community, increase professional skills through interactions with other organizations and workshops, and benefit from giving back to the community by being able to travel across the country gaining valuable leadership skills and experience in a professional/business environment. Unlike some other organizations, Silver Wings is a self-governed organization that is run by students from the chapter level all the way up to the national level. With minor supervision, Silver Wings works jointly with the Arnold Air Society (AAS) nationwide to promote leadership skills, military awareness, and professional development.

Mission: "Silver Wings (SW) is a national, co-ed, professional organization dedicated to creating proactive, knowledgeable, and effective civic leaders through community service and education about national defense."

Silver Wings has three tenets to help them with their mission: personal development, professional development, and civic awareness. For personal development, chapters offer projects and activities that build character through serving their community. Many chapters are involved on their campus and in their community by volunteering their time and talent to soup kitchens, nursing homes, children's museums, cleaning up parks, working on Habitat for Humanity homes and more. These activities help members develop a sense of purpose and responsibility to their community. For professional development, the national organization allows members to have leadership opportunities where they can develop their professional skills such as public speaking, written/oral communications, presenting to audiences, and planning and organizing successful projects. For civic awareness, members of Silver Wings are informed about aerospace power and its role in the United States national defense through interactions with AAS members and military personnel. Informed, members are encouraged to engage and actively promote aerospace issues in the community through educational programs, activities and voter awareness projects. Through these three tenets, Silver Wings is professional, educational, service-oriented, social and civilian.

Silver Wings, originally known as Angel Flight, was founded at the University of Omaha as a local auxiliary organization in 1951 and formed as a national organization in 1952. Starting out as an all-female organization, Angel Flight was more of a national idea with various names. While these organizations across the country had different names, they were all focused on helping out their local AFROTC unit. In April 1957, representatives from 16 different groups came together at the 8th National Conclave of Arnold Air Society to join their purposes under a National Coordination Headquarters. From that point on, Silver Wings became an organization on a national, regional, and local level.

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