In celebration of Women’s History Month, we want to take this opportunity to recognize some of the women who make a difference to our organization. Barbara Brummet serves as Family Friend. She is the daughter of Chief (Ret.) Robert Dick, who began serving as a Family Friend in the 1960s.
A BackStoppers Family Friend is a special person appointed to connect with the families we serve. Family Friends ensure each family’s needs are met and provide emotional support. We have an outstanding group of Family Friends that have stepped up and have led with love and care.
“My personal involvement as a Family friend started just over a year ago, but my family has been involved for decades. My uncle, three brothers and my dad have all been firefighters and my sister’s wife is a recent retiree from MSHP. My father started his work with BackStoppers in the early 1960’s. I distinctly recall him being assigned to care for the widow of St. Louis Police Officer Paul McCulloch, EOW 7/2/64. He continued his support of several widows over the years, ending in 2023 at the age of 95 when he passed away. He happened to be serving a widow at that time who also was 95.
I felt that I wanted to continue his legacy and contacted BackStoppers to ask if I could be of assistance to do just that. I’m deeply grateful that they said “yes” and now I have 2 widows that I serve. It’s something that I found both easy and difficult at the same time. Finding the right words to say, as well as the right way to approach them both respectfully and gently. Their stories are vastly different, so finding that balance was something that I was unprepared for.
People are always so surprised by what BackStoppers does for the families of both fallen first responder heroes and the catastrophically injured heroes. Financial support is crucial, but it’s so much more than that. Whether it’s financial, emotional or even seeing to it that something unsafe in their home gets a much-needed repair, BackStoppers does it all.
When first responders say, “We’ll take it from here”, they mean it, and BackStoppers makes that happen in both the smallest and the biggest of ways. I urge all of you to speak often to those outside of our wonderful first responder family. Let it be known what their contributions have the power to do. You will not regret donating or finding a local fundraiser to support. “– Barbara Brummet
We are honored to have Barbara and her family’s support and dedication to our mission.
