About The CHP

The Caring Hands Project (CHP) is a national non-profit organization established to promote the work of the men and women of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and educate the public about their work.

We focus on and celebrate the most important tool EMS personnel have: their hands and their ability to touch another human being.

When you strip away the lights, the sirens, the ambulances, the helicopters, the high-tech equipment and state-of-the-art facilities, what's left are the caring hands of one person taking care of another. 

The Caring Hands Project is a tribute to the work that EMS does all the time, not just during emergencies, and the selfless ways that these professionals put their own health at risk as they care for anyone who needs them. 

Also, please read this note about Diversity from our founder. 

THE EMS

If you ask people who are the first responders in their community you will get an answer like the Fire Department, the Police Department, and the Red Cross. If they do mention EMS it is usually as “the ambulance guys”.  EMS personnel are, in fact, essential first responders in any type of incident from an automobile accident all the way to multiple-victim events such as large fires, natural disasters, and sadly, mass shootings. 

For large “public” incidents, EMS has already treated and transported patients and may no longer be on scene by the time the media has arrived. 

As a result, EMS personnel rarely receive the kind of recognition given to firefighters and police officers by the Media.

CHP’S GOAL

The goal of the Caring Hands Project is to be a national organization with a local focus. Our approach is to partner with local sponsors to create an installation built on the core “caring hands” concept but implemented in a way that best reflects the specific ethos of a community.

For each project, we will work with a local sponsor to identify a venue, determine the size and scope of the installation, help identify participants and provide guidance, as needed, in the execution of the life casts.

We will partner with local artists and craftspeople to design an installation that reflects the community. Over time, we envision projects across the country, such as “Caring Hands Topeka,” “Caring Hands Chicago,” etc. 

The Caring Hands Project, Inc. will cover the cost of working with the sponsor(s) to recruit participants, identify a venue and funding sources and provide guidance for the installation’s concept; the actual design will be done by local artists and craftspeople. It is our plan that the actual project work is funded as much as possible by local sponsor(s) funds. We believe that a project should be driven by the desire for local people to honor the work of their local EMS personnel.