MILWAUKEE — It’s back-to-school season, which means kids are getting all the supplies they need to head back to the classroom.
And one teacher is hoping her backpack will be something kids choose to use when heading back to school this year.
Kim Coleman has been working with kids her whole life. For decades, she’s taught Sunday school.
But recently, she retired from her full-time job and began teaching at a local day care center in Milwaukee.
In the last month, Coleman’s passion for kids and safety has come full circle with the launch of the angel backpack.
“It still seems like it’s a dream. It just seems unreal,” the Angel on My Shoulder’s Founder Coleman said.
Back in 2002, Coleman’s daughter was hit by a car in broad daylight when she was just 20 years old. She miraculously had no injuries and was able to walk to her mom to tell her what happened.
“She told me, ‘mom it felt like angels were guarding me under my arms. It felt like they put me on a pillow,’” Coleman said.
Ten years after her daughter was hit, Coleman came up with the idea of a backpack with angel wings that would help keep kids more visible when going to and from school.
Within this past month, she’s received the first supply of backpacks she designed in hopes of saving lives.
“It feels so amazing to know that I have done something to save a life, to potentially save a life,” Coleman said.
The backpack comes in bright, metallic colors and has reflectors all over. The wings on the backpack detach and also light up.
Coleman said she’s proud of the work she’s been able to do with the backpack. It’s something she said she felt called to do.
“My passion and my destiny and my purpose is coming full circle before I leave this earth,” Coleman said.