Bartlesville Nonprofit Donates Life-Saving Equipment To Oklahoma First Responders

A new nonprofit in Bartlesville is donating life-saving equipment to area first responders.

It’s called Project Tribute Foundation and its goal is to help every agency in the area, then eventually agencies nationwide.

Jon Beckloff's Jeep displays names of hundreds of fallen law enforcement officers and military members, as a way to honor them. Beckloff isn't a first responder himself but said he's grateful for the sacrifices they make every single day.

"After I put the names of the fallen on my Jeep, people said how can I help?" Beckloff said.

Beckloff got with some of his first responder friends and together, they decided lifesaving equipment would be the best way to help departments.

A couple weeks ago, Project Tribute Foundation became an official nonprofit and they've hit the ground running.

"All my board are first responders, we all have a day job," said Beckloff. "It's a way to help our communities."

"Roughly two weeks later we've hit 135 tourniquets out of our goal of 300," said Bartlesville Police Investigator Tyler Lee. "It was a miracle to get that far so fast."

Lee said the group started by donating tourniquets. Beckloff said they'll work to fund things like bulletproof vests and mass casualty kits as they grow.

For rural agencies like the Dewey Volunteer Fire Department, Assistant Chief Cody Meade said this equipment can be the difference between life and death.

"In our business, we're in a business of seconds not minutes," said Meade. "If we have a loss of blood that's a major deal."

Bartlesville firefighter Justin Miller said the support they've received in just two weeks is overwhelming.

"It really warms our hearts when they give us something that can save our lives or somebody else's lives," Miller said.

Once all the local agencies are served, Beckloff said their goal is to help agencies across the country.

The nonprofit is accepting donations, both of equipment and money. 

If you’d like to support the Project Tribute Foundation, you can visit their website here, their Facebook page here or click on their Amazon wish list here.