SHIELD616

SHIELD616 was founded to provide rifle-rated protective gear for law enforcement officers and other first responders. We partner with individuals, businesses, corporations, foundations, churches, etc. to raise the necessary funding. In addition, officers are paired with members of the community who desire to provide prayer support and encouragement. For Kearney and Buffalo counties, this covers Kearney PD Officers, Buffalo County Sheriff's Deputies, and the UNK Police Officers.

Nationally, as of September, 2026, SHIELD616 has outfitted 9,000+ first responders in 400+ agencies in 32 states with rifle rated protective active shooter gear. Most of these first responders have been attached to the community support team aspect of the SHIELD616 program.

The climate for our officers and first responders has changed significantly, and they are facing more threats and violence. So, we feel the need is still there and more urgent than ever before to equip them with the rifle rated protective gear.

Donations will go towards outfitting new officers (often the new officer isn't the same size as the previous officer), and to replace gear that has reached the end of its useful life (5 years). Each officer receives a set of protective gear, which costs about $2,200 per officer in Kearney/Buffalo County.

Prayer support through the Unseen Backup program is offered to each officer and is much appreciated by the officer and their families to know that they are being covered in prayer.

All funds given to SHIELD616 through Give Where You Live go towards outfitting officers in Kearney (KPD and UNK PD) and Buffalo County (BCSO).

Testimonials

"My husband was chosen to receive one of the SHIELD616 protective armor gear packages. He is so incredibly humbled and honored to receive it, and I am so very grateful. With the protection of the armor, as well as the protection from the prayers from Unseen Backup, I will truly be able to sleep better every night. Thank you for getting this program started in Kearney."

A quote from a Kearney police officer who received an armor gear package. "We are trained to go into difficult situations, but we are human and having this additional protective gear gives us more confidence to deal with the threats we face."