Last Updated on October 31, 2024 by Luke Feldbrugge
The Homes for Heroes Foundation awarded Shield 616 a $5,000 grant to help the organization provide ballistic PPE directly to firefighters in need, to protect them in the capacity of their daily duties or other special needs that directly support firefighters.
Shield 616 Check Presentation with Jay Flynn
The grant check presentation interview was conducted by Homes for Heroes Foundation Director, Jay Flynn. Local Homes for Heroes Mortgage Specialist, Shane Duehn, joined Jay to interview Jake Skifstad, Founder and President of Shield 616.
You can watch the full interview or read about it below.
Jay: Hi everyone, thanks for joining us today. My name is Jay Flynn, and I’m the Director of the Homes for Heroes Foundation. I’m joined today by Shield 616 Founder and President, Jake Skifstad, and Homes for Heroes mortgage specialist, Shane Duehn.
It’s my honor to be here with you guys today.
As part of the Homes for Heroes of Circle Giving, the Homes for Heroes Foundation provides grants to support nonprofits whose mission is to help our heroes in need. Jake, Shane and I are so honored to present a $5,000 Homes for Heroes Foundation grant to Shield 616. Congratulations!
Jake: Well, it’s an absolute blessing. I can’t thank you guys enough for helping us protect our protectors.
Jay: Absolutely. It’s our honor to work with great groups like yours. And, we appreciate everything you do. So let’s take a few minutes and chat about Shield 616. Please tell us a little bit about how Shield 616 came to be and what you are doing.
Jake: Yeah. So I was a police officer here in Colorado Springs, CO for just under 14 years, and why we donate rifle rated vests to police, fire, and EMS across the country, is because I was involved with two different active shooters. The first one was called, “The New Life Church Active Shooter” back in 2007, and the second was called, “The Plan Parenthood Active Shooter” on Black Friday 2015.
In both of those situations, we went up against guys whose only intent that day was to kill as many people as they could. Both were armed with rifles. It was in the second active shooter, the Planned Parenthood shooter, where on top of the civilians that were killed, we also had five officers shot, one was killed. And, the Lord just laid it on my heart to help our first responders have that protection.
You know, we expect our first responders to come to our rescue no matter what situation we’re in. But a lot of times, people don’t realize, if it involves a rifle our first responders are not always equipped with appropriate protection for a rifle incident.
So we want to make sure that our police, fire, and EMS can handle those situations with the best protection available. So our first responders can help protect and save individuals that are in those situations.
Now more than ever, you know in October, our firefighters do a lot more than just fires. So we want to make sure they have that protection when they are in that hot zone. So this grant is going to go a long way in helping us protect our first responders.
Jay: Jake, that’s awesome. We were chatting about what I do for my real job before we went live. And I’ll tell you, you’re exactly right. The firefighters do way more than just go to fires and, in today’s world, having the right protection available if something like that occurs, there is a level of protection to where these folks can hopefully make it home to their families.
So Shane, you’re a big supporter of our heroes as a Homes for Heroes mortgage specialist. Please tell us about why this group means so much to you.
Shane: Shield 616 is so huge in the community and they give back not only to some of my personal acquaintances who have been in the field, and involved in potential active shooter situations, but they also give back to the community and provide this equipment that can bring our heroes home.
That’s the number one priority. Not only making sure our community is safe, but making sure our heroes are safe.
Jay: Absolutely. So Jake, Homes for Heroes and the Homes for Heroes Foundation are honored to support your organization with this $5,000 grant, specifically to help our firefighters.
You briefly spoke about what you do, but what’s the plan for these funds from the foundation and how will they be used to support our heroes?
Jake: Well, this is just such perfect timing. You know a lot of people understand that police officers wear ballistic vests. But a lot of people don’t think about firefighters needing those vests. So, it’s a little more work for us to educate and to tell the community, hey, this is what our firefighters are up against. A lot of times they’re right there with us. So we’re donating some rifle rated vests that local firefighters can wear in any situation they feel that gear is needed. We’re really honored to get more of the right protection to our local heroes, specifically the Monument Fire Department.
Jay: That is awesome. You know, we’re honored to be a part of helping to raise that awareness and helping to support your program.
So if folks want to learn more about Shield 616 or if they want to get involved in the mission, where can they go to find out more?
Jake: Yeah. Appreciate it. We have a simple website. It’s shield 616.org, and they can find out all the information on how they can help protect or volunteer. Just any information about who we are, and how to get the process started, or any information on how they can protect their local first responders. Or, if they want to donate, just go to the website.
Jay: Shield 616 is doing great work. It’s a wonderful nonprofit supporting our heroes. It’s just awesome. Shane and Jake, thank you guys for taking the time to join me today. And thank you for everything that you are doing there locally to support our heroes.
For those joining us, thanks for tuning in to hear more about Shield 616 and its mission of service. I hope everybody has a great rest of your day. Remember, just take a minute to say thank you to a hero today.
Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving
Grants from the Homes for Heroes Foundation are made possible by the Homes for Heroes Circle of Giving and its network of real estate and mortgage professionals. Homes for Heroes, Inc. is committed to providing savings to community heroes; such as firefighters, EMS, law enforcement, military (active duty, reserves and veterans), healthcare professionals and teachers.
To expand its Circle of Giving, Homes for Heroes, Inc., donates a portion of its earnings to the Homes for Heroes Foundation. So, every time a hero buys or sells a home using the Homes for Heroes program, they are helping other heroes across the country facing a housing crisis or who are in need of urgent financial assistance.
If you are interested in learning more about how Homes for Heroes can guide you through the home buying, selling or refinancing process AND save you an average of $3,000 after closing on a home with one of their local specialists, simply sign up to speak with a member of the team. They will follow up with you to answer all of your questions. When you tell them you’re feeling ready to speak with their local specialists in your area about home buying, selling, or refinancing your mortgage, they will connect you with their local specialists to begin the process.
Simply visit the Homes for Heroes Foundation page if you’re interested in learning more about where it has awarded recent grants to hero organizations throughout the country, how much they’ve awarded to date, and how it all works.
If you’re interested in supporting and donating to the Homes for Heroes Foundation to assist heroes in need, please visit their donation page to submit your contribution via PayPal. And, thank you for your interest and support.
