TAMPA, Fla. — A Bay Area woman has devoted an enormous amount of time and energy to supporting veterans, first responders and the families of fallen officers. Christine Johnson has a personal motivation for her work.

On a recent weekend, Johnson was running a bowling fundraiser at the Bowlero bowling alley in Spring Hill. About a hundred people took part in the bowling event. The event also included a raffle that raised funds for the Off-Road United Foundation, which Johnson co-founded. She is also the CEO.

“We really love our first responders,” said Johnson. “We are grateful that we have them. We thank them for all they do for our community. So that’s why we do what we do.”

Johnson has a personal motivation for the first responder cause. Her brother-in-law, Michael Johnson, was a Vermont State Police officer killed in the line of duty in 2003. He was struck by a driver fleeing from officers.

Another way Johnson’s organization supports first responders is its annual “Krawl’n for the Fallen” event featuring jeeps and trucks. “That is where we invite families of law enforcement officers who have been killed in the line of duty to come out and spend the weekend with us,” she said. “We give them rides in the side-by-side trucks and jeeps. We hear their story and find out what happened to their hero and then just show them some love.”

Johnson’s experience with the loss of her brother-in-law makes her sensitive to the issues of long-term support for families. “After they lose an officer for the first few weeks everybody is really there for them and then after six months or a year, two years, three years, they feel like their officer is forgotten,” said Johnson. “And our way of doing the ‘Krawl’n’ is making sure their officer is never forgotten.”

Off-Road United also sponsors a bike giveaway each year at the Bay Pines VA hospital in St. Petersburg. The bikes are given to homeless veterans. “And then we also do ‘blessing bags’ every Christmas,” said Johnson. “We put together bags for our homeless veterans. We provide mats for our homeless veterans.”

Johnson said the Off-Road United Foundation has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to an organization called Concerns of Police Survivors.

“If I can help. It only takes one person to make a difference,” said Johnson. “Add a bunch together and you make a really big difference.”