Colorado kids, church raise thousands to provide safety gear for local police

Caleb Landrum and Andrew Deeds, two elementary school students, recognized the danger law enforcement officers face every day. So they partnered with a Christian nonprofit to do something to protect the officers.

The kids partnered with the nonprofit Shield 616 to raise more than $14,000 to pay for helmets and protective vests for officers from two departments in Colorado, KCNC-TV reported.

"Cops should be saved, because they're the ones that protect you," Andrew said. "If there aren't any cops, then you're not safe, and then you can't play at school."

What's the story?

Shield 616 is a nonprofit organization that has two primary goals:

First we want to equip every first responder with necessary, advanced active shooter/crowd control gear. Second, we want to provide a support group for that first responder who will pray for the first responder and his or her family on a daily basis and shower the first responder with support and encouragement throughout the year.

Shield616 raises funds to donate safety gear to financially struggling departments and replaces that gear every five years. The organization collaborates with local individuals, churches, and businesses to support this mission.

The organization's name draws on Ephesians 6:16, which reads: "Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."

What did the kids do?

Caleb and Andrew answered the call. They raised the $14,000 by asking for donations door-to-door, reaching out to local businesses, and hosting bake sales.

According to KCNC, the two kids were motivated by the terrible thought that some families might not see their loved one return home from work one day.

"We both feel officers should come home safe and not be harmed because they also deserve to see their families," Caleb told KCNC. "Now we know they're safe. Now they can come home."

A local church, Living Word Chapel, raised another $17,000 for police gear. In total, the donations paid for helmets and vests for 20 officers.