Children of Fallen Patriots

By Marguerite Cleveland on March 28, 2019

Vision is that all such children receive the necessary funding for college

David Kim founded the Children of Fallen Patriots in 2002 after serving with Sgt. William Delaney Gibbs who was killed in action during Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989. Kim never forgot him, or the daughter he left behind. His memory spurred Kim to establish the organization, which now serves Gold Star families in all 50 states and in all branches of the military. The vision is to ensure that every child of a fallen patriot receives all necessary college funding.

According to research conducted by The Lucas Group on behalf of Children of Fallen Patriots, nearly 20,000 dependents have been left behind over the past 35 years. The Children of Fallen Patriots strives to reach out to these families and help provide educational support. So far they have granted over $28.8 million in scholarships. They have developed a database of surviving families and they have identified 1,389 children who can use their help.

The organization offers scholarships and educational counseling. The average age of students starting in their program is 10 years old. One of the unique things about their program is there is no deadline. You can apply at any time and their streamlined process usually has an answer within four weeks. Their program's staff are surviving children who graduated with the assistance of Fallen Patriots, so they can relate to the experiences of the families, because they have been there themselves.