What We Do

Visit our Gallery for photos of our events.

HOW CAN YOU HELP? Are you an Amazon shopper? If you visit Smile Amazon site you can designate America’s Gold Star Families as your charity and 5% of your purchase will be donated to our organization. Please consider making this a regular part of your Amazon shopping experience.

Funeral Memorials–Please consider having donations directed in memory of your loved one to America’s Gold Star Families. Checks made payable to Gold Star can be mailed to 2426 W Cornerstone Court, Peoria, IL 61614.

If you are a business or corporation looking for a worthy cause look no further! We have no paid staff or overhead. Over $.90 of every dollar goes directly to support Gold Star Families. Please consider designating AGSF as your annual charity.

America’s Gold Star Families was founded to provide honor, hope and healing to those grieving any military loss. We are open to all family members who have lost a loved one while serving active duty in the United States Armed Forces.

“To care for him who shall have borne the battle, for his widow and his orphan.” Abraham Lincoln 1865

President Lincoln’s admonishment is what we at AGSF endeavor to do on a daily basis with the following programs, services and partnerships.

  • Our programs and services include:
    • Route 6 renamed Gold Star Families Memorial Highway
    • Wall of Honor located in Walmart entryway on Allen Road, Peoria, IL
    • Work with legislators to rename major highways and US Postal Services after fallen heroes
    • Scholarships of $1000.00 to Illinois families for continuing education.
    • Annual 5K Run for Fallen Heroes–we are the only 5K in the region that supports families of the fallen and this is our only annual fundraiser. It is always held the Saturday before July 4. This year it will be June 29, 2019 7:30am @ Gateway Building along the riverfront in downtown Peoria, IL. There is no registration fee for our families.
    • Hometown Hero Banner Project
    • Gold Star Families Memorial Marker, located in Tower Park, Peoria Heights, IL
    • Provide Grief Counseling free of charge to our families.
    • (Nationwide) Each Christmas season AGSF hosts two Fallen Heroes Tree of Honor located in the Peoria Riverfront Museum and Central Illinois Regional Airport, Bloomington, IL. We currently have 155 ornaments representing 35 states. This project is in partnership with the Sgt. Anthony R. Maddox Memorial and led by Chairwoman Frances Maddox. If you would like AGSF to create an ornament for your fallen hero please visit home page and click on Ornament Registration Tab.
    • Birthday cards to children of the fallen each containing a $20 gift card. We currently send to 1000 children located in 48 states across the US.
    • Quarterly events for families–Spring Gathering, 5K Run/1 Mile Walk for Fallen Heroes, Commemoration, Christmas Potluck.

America’s Gold Star Families Scholarship Guidelines

To date AGSF has awarded almost $20,000.00 in scholarships and grants to families of the fallen. Deadline for application is September 15 of every year.

Eligibility: America’s Gold Star Families will be awarding $1000 scholarships to Illinois family members who lost a loved one in service to our country. Each is a non-renewable scholarship to be used at a college/university, junior college or a trade/vocational school. Please provide the following information:

Provide your name, address, phone number and email address.

State the name of fallen and your relationship.

Maintain C+ average and show proof of grades.

Show proof of acceptance to College, University or Trade School.

A paragraph stating what you did in school and where you see yourself in the future.

The check will be made out to the college, university or trade school.

Scholarship deadline is September 15 of each year.

Are you available to accept the scholarship in person at the Oct. Commemoration?

Submit information to info@americasgoldstarfamilies.org.

For questions call 309-825-5121.

WHAT WE DON’T DO

PLEASE NOTE: We do not have an exhaustive national database of every gold star family in the USA. Weekly AGSF receives calls asking for a list of gold star families in various communities across the country. We do not have this information. Check with your local veterans organizations to see if they know of any. Thank you.