We’re here to share our story with you - the story of a foundation that is passionate about supporting our local FIRE and EMS departments. As you explore our website, you’ll learn more about who we are, where we are from, and how we provide grant to assist FIRE and EMS departments with the cost of safety equipment.

On December 6, 2022, Kurt Keilhofer was a volunteer fire fighter on the scene of a no-injury vehicle crash when an oncoming vehicle failed to stop for the accident scene. The vehicle crashed into a fire company apparatus and eventually Kurt who succumbed to his injuries shortly after the accident. Tragically, Kurt would be one of 96 on-duty firefighters killed in 2022. Of those firefighters who tragically lost their life, several of them were struck by a vehicle.

Kurt was always an advocate for safety. He stressed the importance of safety to his family every day, on every trip, and every lawncare day. To get an idea of how serious about safety he was, he had safety vests, flares, lights, a first aid kit, blankets, and snacks in his vehicle at all times. After Kurt lost his life the next 6 months would be grueling for the family. They would have to go through the holidays, new year, birthdays, and every other special occasion without their husband, father, grandfather, and friend. But through all of their heartache the family couldn’t help but feel as thought Kurt would want them to do something to protect others. His wife and daughter decided to start a foundation in Kurt’s memory to help fire companies and EMS departments offset some of their safety costs. “All safety should be exercised even if we are in a national crisis for Fire and EMS funding”, Crystal noted.

While working with the attorney to get established as an organization and after all of the appointments, the articles of incorporation were filed by the State of PA on Kurt’s birthday, August 21st. This told Kathy and Crystal that Kurt would have approved of the things they were doing for the community and that even when the road becomes, keep going. As Kurt always said “nobody has a right to complain about anything they themselves are not willing to do the work to change”. Kurt was a pretty amazing man and by offering this grant to Fire and EMS departments, his legacy will live on forever. The 1st Annual Kurt Keilhofer Memorial Ride will be held on June 22, 2024. This memorial ride is the primary fundraiser for the foundation. In 2024 the grants will be issued to FIRE and EMS Departments located in Huntingdon County, PA. Since this is the first year grants will be a fixed amount of $500 to be distributed the day of the ride.

The foundation looks forward to working with FIRE and EMS departments for many years into the future. As we continue to raise money this will increase the size of the grant funding. The founders of the foundation even put a fail-safe in place. If at anytime the Foundation can no longer raise money for the grant program or is without a board of directors to continue, all of the assets of the Foundation will be liquidated in the form of grants or to another non-profit agency. They also ensured that no board member could ever benefit from the foundation in any way. All of the current board members serve in their positions as volunteers. There is and will never be a paid position on the foundation board. What does this mean to you? This means you can rest assured that every dollar you donate to the Foundation will benefit the departmental needs of FIRE and EMS agencies.

We welcome you to our page, our foundation, our life! As Kurt always said “Stay Safe!”

If you find any area of the page hard to navigate please contact us at safety1st@kurtsfoundation.com so we can have our web designer fix it quickly.