DALLAS – Colorado Springs based charity, Shield616, partnered with ESPN and the Servpro First Responder Bowl on Monday. They called it a great game with an even greater cause.

The non-profit Shield616 was founded to provide all-day rifle protection for police officers and first responders whose departments couldn’t otherwise afford to pay for them.

They did their largest vest presentation during halftime of the bowl game, donating gear to more than 700 first responders.

Shield616 founder, Jake Skifstad said, “It hit extra hard today because they had that church shooting just yesterday outside of Fort Worth here. The agencies we`ve been working with, both Tarrant County and Fort Worth, a lot of those guys that responded were wearing the vests we donated to them.”

They also unveiled two new commercials that aired during the nationally televised game. The commercials were shot in Colorado Springs with local police officers, showcasing their commitment to bringing the community and first responders together.

Skifstad said, “We just wanted to say law enforcement, we love you, we`re grateful for you. If you ever need help, let us know. We`d love to partner with you and please know we stand with you.”

Shield616 will be back on ESPN next year and will continue to raise money to equip officers in Colorado.

Skifstad said, “So for 2020, it really is my heart to bring back the impact of this game to Colorado. We have a lot of work to be done in the Denver metro area, a lot of work to be done. We`re still going to be doing networking, we want to get those guys equipped as fast as possible.”

To date, Shield616 has outfitted more than 3,500 first responders in 22 states with necessary gear like vests, plates, and helmets. all donated and replaced every 5 years at no cost to the officers or their departments.

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