Police officers and firefighters put their lives on the line every day and yet many departments are facing budget cuts as well as equipment and supply shortages. After “defund the police” became the rallying cry of protests in the summer of 2020 police officers and firefighters, in small and large cities alike, have gone from heroes to budget bait. Thanks to these budget cuts, communities must make hard choices about what equipment they can afford to provide first responders. Fire and police departments across the country are reaching out to non-profits like Back the Badge USA to help them meet their equipment needs. The budget cuts, personnel reductions, station closures, and equipment shortages, greatly diminishes the capacity of our first responders to respond to life-threatening emergencies. Businessman Darrin Parrent created Back the Badge U.S.A. to support our first responders by highlighting the importance of their work performed for the benefit of society, second, to support the first-responder community by providing scholarships and education to those wishing to serve as first-responders, and by donating paramedic-grade medical/trauma bags to police and fire departments that lack such equipment. Typically, these donations are made to police and fire departments in smaller towns and more rural areas where the nearest Hospital/ER is 10+ miles away.

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