Today we’d like to introduce you to Curtis Deberg.
Hi Curtis, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I started my career about 34 years ago as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician). After graduating with a degree in Criminal Justice and going through the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy (POST Certification), I hit the streets as a Police Officer. During that career, I worked in many different divisions… i.e., traffic division, gang investigations, narcotics investigations, Officer safety training, firearms instructor, bicycle patrol Officer, just to name a few. After 13 years and a few on-the-job injuries, surgeries, and physical therapy, the last injury resulted in disability retirement.
This is when the reality hit, and I was confronted with and felt the financial hardship. At the time of the injury retirement, I was the sole provider for my family. My wife at the time was a full-time college student and my daughter was very young.
It took a few months for workers comp and the retirement system to figure out how much money I was going to receive monthly, and I can tell you, it was substantially less. During this gap in payment, the bank still wanted their mortgage payment, the utility bills still needed to be paid, and we still had to eat and pay car gas, insurance, etc.
But I was alive and able to continue my career.
Because of the injuries I sustained, I was not able to continue work as a Police Officer because of the physical demands/requirements. Once I was released from physical therapy and able to go back to work, I continued my career with the State Adult Department of Corrections, working at the Maximum-Security Prison. After 3 years working in the Maximum-Security Prison, I moved to Southern California in 2008 to be close to my daughter. I went to work as a Prisoner Transportation/Detention Officer. In 2015 I moved to Omaha Nebraska and went to work for a private security company that provided high end security for CEO’s, Estate Security, Business Security and private parties.
In 2019, I was offered the position of Security Account Manager at Berkshire Hathaway Corporate Headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska, from the Security Company I work for, Gatekeepers Security.
A little over a year ago I was speaking with my client, Mr. Warren Buffett. We were having a casual conversation about a couple of his non-profits, during that conversation, I mentioned I had been wanting to start my non-profit that I had been trying to start for several years. After explaining the mission of Give Blue Hope, Mr. Buffett told me to get it done. He also told me to come see him when we received all of the paperwork back from the IRS, and we were a 501c3 Tax Exempt Non-Profit.
Give Blue Hope’s mission is to raise money so we can provide to the family of a Law Enforcement Officer, Corrections Officer, or First Responder who has been killed in the line of duty a charitable gift of money so they can buy food or pay immediate bills until they are awarded their benefit package from their respective department. The family should have this time to grieve instead of stressing about their finances.
On February 9th, 2023, after approximately 5 months of waiting, I received our 501c3 Tax Exempt status. I presented the paperwork to Mr. Buffett. Mr. Buffett said that he was going to show his support for Give Blue Hope by matching $500,000 to take us to $1,000,000. Needless to say, I was pretty excited to have his support. Mr. Buffett has become a mentor and has given me lots of advice and direction over the past year and a half. Mr. Buffett also showed his support by doing a 30-second PSA with me to validate Give Blue Hope so people know it is not a scam. (go to www.givebluehope.org watch the video)
On May 1, 2023, Give Blue Hope went live, and we started raising money for our mission. After the PSA went live, I spoke with an individual who saw that Mr. Buffett was going to match the $500,000. This individual, who wants to remain anonymous, said he would match the first $250,000 to take us to the $500,000 that Mr. Buffett promised to match to take Give Blue Hope to $1,000,000.
As of today, March 14th, 2024, since going live on May 1, 2023, Give Blue Hope has raised approximately $127,000 of our original goal of $250,000.
Give Blue Hope needs help raising $123,000 to immediately unlock $750,000 in matching pledges. Once we meet that goal, there are so many more families to help and additional programs we can start working on.
Please help us raise our immediate goal of $123,000. If you cannot donate because of financial reasons, that is understandable, but please share our mission with family and friends.
We need the Corporations to make the annual commitments as well to help sustain our mission for years to come.
Please visit www.givebluehope.org and donate, or send a check to: Give Blue Hope 1243 Golden Gate DR Ste#2, Papillion NE 68046
If you have ideas or suggestions on fundraising or collaboration, please contact us at the below email address.
info@givebluehope.org
402-906-9077
If you have a corporation or group that would like to hear about our mission, we would be honored to give a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation. Go to www.givebluehope.org click on the contact page, and send us a message.
Give Blue Hope, our Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders would be honored to have your financial and emotional support.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The biggest challenges we face are probably the same ones that every new business or non-profit faces. The start-up expenses, marketing expenses, purchasing office equipment and operational expenses. No one is getting paid; it is all volunteer work.
We don’t have the budget that is necessary for fundraising or marketing since 100% of our donations are going to the families of the First Responders/Police Officers killed in the line of duty. Therefore, we need the large, committed donations from corporations that support our law enforcement and first responders. That will allow us to pay these expenses and hopefully allow us to hire the appropriate professionals to propel us moving forward.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Founder and CEO of Give Blue Hope
Personal Protection Agent for CEOs, Estates/Businesses, Celebrities, Red Carpet functions, and/or Private parties. We can also provide a Professional car service if you need that level of Security.
My current client is in Omaha, Nebraska, so I travel between Omaha and Huntington Beach about every 2 weeks.
I also have a mobile training business called “Targeted CPR Mobile Training” www.targetedcprtraining.com I created this training program based off of the years of professional training, education and experiences I had during my 35 years of service.
I wanted to create a reality-based training program for the average citizen so they can receive the same level of training that Officer’s receive. It can take 7+ minutes for the First Responders to arrive at your location, therefore, you better know how to react if you find yourself in the middle of a medical crisis i.e. heart attack, cardiac arrest, serious injury or severe bleeding situation.
I am a Certified/Licensed Instructor. I teach CPR/AED and First Aid through the American Red Cross. I am also a licensed instructor to teach “Stop The Bleed” through the American College of Surgeons. I am a certified Firearms Instructor through the USCCA and teach many different safety programs, situational and positional awareness programs, such as: Home Defense program, introduction to firearm safety, Real Estate Agent safety programs, legal consequences of use of force, just to name a few.
Targeted CPR Mobile Training is completely mobile. If you have the desire to get certified in CPR or need recertification for your current license, visit us at www.targetedcprtraining.com I will bring the training equipment to your house or place of business. I travel to Orange County, parts of LA County, Riverside County and parts of San Bernardino County.
If you are interested in learning lifesaving skill sets, visit www.targetedcprtraining.com or email me at [email protected]
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
If we can reach raise $123,000 soon, and meet our initial goal, that will automatically unlock $750,000. That will allow Give Blue Hope the opportunity we need to carry on our mission for a few years.
I am blessed that there are people willing to support our mission by donating $5, $10, $100, and $2500; those donations have added up. But we need the big corporations to step up and commit to an annual donation in order for us to continue and carry on for several years.
Pricing:
- We need to raise $123,000, which will take us to $250,000
- A private donor is matching $250,000 to take us to $500,000
- Warren Buffett is matching $500,000 to take us to $1,000,000
Contact Info:
- Website: www.givebluehope.org
- Instagram: @givebluehope
- Facebook: Give Blue Hope
- Linkedin: Curtis DeBerg
Image Credits
Curtis DeBerg
