“I would like to start out by saying that the first time I heard about The Knoxville Public Safety Foundation I had no doubt that it was for a great cause but hoped that I would never have to use it. Several weeks ago that changed when an on the job injury sidelined me for several weeks. Two weeks doesn’t sound like much but it happened at a crucial time for me and my family. My wife has been working on becoming a paramedic with goals of being a flight-medic with Life Star. With her going to school full time and having to work over 250 hours of clinical work each semester my wife had to cut back on hours at work and I was using extra jobs to make ends meet and pay for her school. The two weeks that I was out of work I had many extra jobs schedule in order to pay for her last semester which was coming due. Without the foundations help we were looking at her having to drop out of school and go back for her final semester next year. Thus putting our lives and her goals off for another year. With the help of the foundation my wife is enrolled in her final semester and due to graduate at the end of the summer. I can’t thank the foundation enough, you were there when my family and I needed you and I am proud to be a part of a great organization that helps all of our brothers and sisters in times of need. ”

“I want to start by personally thanking the Knoxville Public Safety Foundation (KPSF) for their support and assistance with my daughter’s medical bills. My daughter is Autistic and in 2014 was undergoing IV-immunoglobulin (IVIG) therapy to help improve some of the issues associated with this syndrome. However, this therapy was not covered by our medical insurance and we had to charge most of the medical expenses on our credit cards. Furthermore, many of these treatments were given out-of-state so we incurred additional travel-related expenses. The Knoxville Fire Department, my firefighter family, held fundraisers to help pay off some of our immense credit carda debt. In addition, fortunately, I was made aware of the KPSF and their mission to assist safety professionals who experience life-changing events, so my department made a request to the KPSF asking them to pay for the last three IVIG treatments for my daughter and they approved the request. The KPSF lifted the financial burden of these last treatments from my family and we were able to concentrate on paying off our credit card debt. We will be forever grateful to the Knoxville Public Safety Foundation for their assistance and support during this time. Finally, I want to add that my daughter is doing so much better after undergoing the IVIG treatments.”

I am writing to thank you personally for the help my family received from your organization following the recent tragedy of losing a child we suffered. I joined the organization as I had many others in my 30 year Law Enforcement career hoping that my involvement would help others in need. I never expected to ever need help myself. That all changed when our family suffered the tragic loss of one of our children. I still cannot put into words the grief and hopelessness we experienced. While most of the time that has followed is still almost indescribable, two things have carried our family through. First of all God?s grace to help ease the grief on our hearts. Second was the support from our family and friends of which your organization played a large part. Shortly after our loss your organization began work even without our knowledge to help in any way possible. As I would imagine in most cases involving a young person, life insurance is not something one plans for. During a time when a family is dealing with a tragedy such as this you don?t even think about the financial aspect of the loss. In our case even after we said we were OK which was an answer formed mainly from grief, your organization along with family and friends continued to work to help with the financial burden of the tragedy. Believe me when I tell you that help made the journey easier to make that week and in the weeks that followed as you lifted the material burden from the family and let us focus on our personal loss to move forward with our lives. For those reasons on behalf of my wife and our other son, I want to thank you for being there for us when we needed you the most, even if we did not know it at the time. I also want to pledge my continued support of an organization that is truly there for the sole purpose of helping its members through times of need. This is by far the most worthwhile professional organization I have ever had the honor to be involved with in my career. Humbly, Gratefully and with Admiration”

“I was faced with a family emergency where my father was very ill and in ICU overseas and his health was quickly deteriorating. I wanted to be with him in view of his situation. The overseas airfare had to be purchased on short notice. My wife was 8 months pregnant with our second child. As my return date was nearing from being overseas, I stayed in constant contact with my wife who was due to have our baby any moment. I realized my family would be faced with some serious financial struggles but attending to all members of my family was extremely important to me. Upon my return home at 10 AM, my wife and I were headed to the hospital around 8:00 PM that same day for the birth of our child. The Knoxville Police Department presented my situation to the Knoxville Public Safety Foundation (KPSF) and with their help, I was able to pay off most of the expenses associated with the overseas visit with my father and the birth of our child. The balance of the expenses was put on a monthly payment plan and I have paid that off. If it wasn’t for the KPSF we would have had a long-term and difficult debt. My family and I are very thankful for the KPSF. “