Bluecoats of Medina County launches "Thank a First Responder" program

MEDINA — Bluecoats of Medina County is inviting the community to show its gratitude toward first responders who made an impact on their lives through its new "Thank a First Responder" program. Bluecoats of Medina County is an organization that supports first responders and their families by providing financial support for mental health programs for first responders and through an annual grant program to supplement equipment, training and programs for departments. The new program is designed to give residents the chance to give thanks to Medina County first responders like police officers, firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, dispatchers and corrections officers who they had a positive experience with. Executive Director Kathy Breitenbucher said she has friends who did not know the name of the first responder who helped them, so they did not know how to thank them even though they wanted to. "The job of a first responder comes with a very unique set of stresses," she said. "They are constantly on alert, and they are constantly waiting for bad news. It is a negative kind of environment, and it's very high stress, so to not have the closure or the thank you or something to make it feel worthwhile can lead to burnout pretty easily." Community members can submit their thank-you message by visiting tinyurl.com/5axtnaha. Names and emails are not required in the submission. "We will put together a note to the person individually and also alert their chief so that their management knows," Breitenbucher said. "If a person gets multiple, we may even be able to work up to a small gift or a token of thanks. It just depends how much the program takes off." To learn more about Bluecoats, visit medinacountybluecoats.org. "They need to see the community is grateful," Breitenbucher said. "This program is our way of bridging that gap. A heartfelt thank you for someone whose life was touched by their work can be profoundly healing. We believe those words matter." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.