Support Colorado Emerald Society in spreading kindness

For more than two decades, the Colorado Emerald Society (CES) has stood as a proud gathering place for Colorado’s law enforcement officers, firefighters, and public safety professionals who share Irish heritage—or simply share the values of service, integrity, and camaraderie. What began as a small group dedicated to culture and fellowship has grown into a statewide organization known for showing up when people need support the most.

Yet there is one mission that stands above all others: investing in the next generation.

Every day, Colorado’s first responders put on their uniforms and step into uncertainty. Their families—spouses, partners, and especially their children—shoulder the weight of that sacrifice. They learn early that service often requires long nights, missed holidays, and the constant push to be courageous in the face of crisis. The CES Scholarship Fund exists because those families deserve more than gratitude. They deserve opportunity.

The Scholarship Fund provides financial support to the children and family members of public safety professionals so they can pursue their dreams through higher education and vocational training. It recognizes that behind every police officer, firefighter, paramedic, dispatcher, or federal agent stands a family who serves alongside them. These scholarships ease the financial burden, reward hard work, and help young people build futures filled with possibility.

But the scholarships represent more than dollars. They are symbols of belief—belief in service, belief in community, and belief in the power of education to change lives.

Consider the high school senior whose firefighter father worked exhausting wildfire seasons to protect Colorado communities. She studied each night by the light of the station’s break room desk while waiting for a ride home. CES helped her become the first in her family to attend college.

Or the young man whose mother served as a sheriff’s deputy. He grew up watching her treat everyone she encountered with dignity and compassion. CES helped him afford the training that led him to become an EMT, following in her footsteps of service.

These stories exist because donors cared enough to lift these students higher.