The Milwaukee Fire Department (MFD) and Ignite the Spirit-Milwaukee are showing support of the Milwaukee LGBTQ community and LGBTQ fire department members with a T-shirt that will be worn by members of the department during June and July to honor Pride month. Shirts are also being sold through Ignite the Spirit-Milwaukee to raise funds for Courage MKE.
“It’s a way that the Milwaukee Fire Department, instead of just saying, we can do,” says MFD Assistant Chief Aaron Lipski at a Zoom press conference. “As firefighters, we come from a proud tradition of happily and readily running into a burning building, knowing nothing about what’s on the other side of the wall, or who is in there, or what they represent or where they come from, what community they belong to.”
One thing the department hasn’t been exceptional at, according to Lipski, is saying they’re part of this “team called humanity.” Everyone is in this community together and MFD is there for them, according to the Assistant Chief. Lipski hopes MFD fire fighters wearing the shirts will show acceptance and hopefully a reciprocated welcome in the community.
Funds raised for the shirt will go to help Courage MKE, who have taken a big hit, like many other non-profit organizations during the pandemic.
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“As kids, we’re taught that there are two people in this world who we have to trust: police officers and fire fighters,” says Brad Schlaikowski, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Courage MKE. “Being a kid nowadays and to see (Milwaukee Fire) department walking around with these shirts on with a big rainbow plastered across their back, for any child that doesn’t have anyone to count on in their life, […] you’ve truly become a hero to that child and shown them who they can be when they grow up.”
Schlaikowski echoes Assistant Chief Lipski’s intentions on building stronger community with the T-shirts and shows his gratitude for Ignite the Spirit-Milwaukee and MFD for allowing the organization to be included in the Pride tribute. A lot of organizations depend on funding provided by events surrounding Pride month, which is June. Obviously with the pandemic and businesses slowly getting back to normal, many of those events (if not all) have been canceled for the summer.
The collaboration was not a response to the pandemic, as they already had plans to honor Pride month, but the struggling organizations suffering during a stagnant period in donations was definitely a call to action for Ignite the Spirit-Milwaukee to step up and help.
“Seeing how COVID has locked all of our events down, I immediately knew what that was going to do to these organizations that depended on the funding to make sure they stay afloat,” says MFD Lieutenant and Ignite the Spirit-Milwaukee President Joseph Flick.
Preorders on the shirts are available here.
