APPLING, Ga. () – The community continues to mourn the loss of Deputy Brandon Sikes following this weekend’s officer-involved shooting. 

Now, one local organization is working to raise donations for the Sikes family. 

Shields and Ladders is an organization in our area that comes alongside first responders when they are the ones in need of help. 

Theopolis Knight founded the organization 2 years ago to help first responder families when an unforeseen medical or financial emergency comes their way. 

“It affects them a lot more, because they’re used to giving assistance instead of receiving assistance, so they don’t reach out. Working in law enforcement, I see that,” said Knight.

The goal of these donations is to cover their basic needs, that way they can focus on recovering.

Knight says it all comes down to helping those who strive to help our community. 

“For example, they might need a relative flown in to take care of their kids or home. Or, they just might need somebody to talk to—we want to be there for them. They might need somebody to clean the house, go purchase some food, mow the lawn—we’re outside of the box. We want to talk to them, and design it just for them,” Knight said.

The organization has helped other previously injured deputies in our area, including Richmond County Deputy Kenneth Mercer after he was shot in the neck 2 years ago while on duty. 

Last year, they also worked with the family of Washington County Deputy Gordon Alley, after he became paralyzed from the waist down due to a car crash. 

Knight says the work to support the Sikes family is well underway, and they invite the community to join the effort. 

“We have a meal train going on, we have people bringing food to us, so the community is responding very well. Give us a call, go online and let us know what they want to do. It may not be monetary—they might just want to bring some food in for the families. We’ll be there for them,” said Knight.

If you’d like to make a donation to Shields and Ladders to support the Sikes’ family, you can go to their website here.