In 1965, a young Phoenix officer was killed in the line-of-duty. Several acquaintances with knowledge of the Detroit 100 Club got together and started the Phoenix 100 Club, and became an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1968. One of the earliest members was Frank Haze Burch. Frank’s father was the first Phoenix police officer killed in the line-of-duty in 1924, when Frank was just five years old.
The charter mission of the 100 Club of Arizona was to come to the immediate financial aid of the family of an officer who gave his or her life in the line-of-duty. As time passed, this mission expanded and changed. At one time, education assistance and medical insurance were provided to survivors. Today, these types of insurance benefits for survivor families are provided by various government branches. The 100 Club aims to provide any type of support needed by beneficiary families. We have added safety stipends to purchase equipment and training that underfunded departments can’t otherwise afford, scholarships for family members of officers & firefighters seeking a higher education or trade, H.E.R.O.S. fund for various financial hardship cases.
Throughout the decades, the 100 Club of Arizona evolved its mission in a variety of ways. First, in 1994, the 100 Club of Arizona elected to provide immediate financial assistance to firefighters and law enforcement officers seriously injured in the line-of-duty, in addition to the families of officers’ who died in the line-of-duty. In 1997, Native American reservation tribal firefighters and law enforcement officers where added as recipients. Today, the 100 Club of Arizona supports all police, correctional, probation and parole officers, firefighters, and federal agents who are serving and protecting the citizens of Arizona. This includes all county, tribal, state and federal levels.
The 100 Club of Arizona and its members realize that money can never make up for the loss of or disability of a loved one, but it can be helpful in covering immediate expenses. In addition, the 100 Club of Arizona has a committee of experts, including members of the first responder’s agency, CPAs, attorneys, trust officers, brokers, financial consultants, insurance consultants and employee benefits consultants. This team, at the survivor’s request, will advise and counsel families in a wide-range of areas without cost or obligation.
The 100 Club now aims to provide any type of support needed by Law Enforcement and Firefighter or First Responder beneficiary families.
