CHICAGO — Every five years, Chicago police officers need a new bulletproof vest. While vests are provided for officers when they are hired, they must pay for their replacement vests, which can cost between $500 and $1,000.

Hot off the griddle, volunteers flipped pancakes to raise money for the life-saving cause.

CPD officer Michael Wrobel was shot in the chest in 2014, where his bulletproof vest saved his life when a driver began shooting at him and his partner.

Wrobel said that the quality of vests makes a huge difference, and that lighter vests were typically more expensive.

The fundraiser was held at St. John Fisher School in the city’s Beverly neighborhood, where 120 students have a parent who is a Chicago police officer.

“Each and every day, police officers are putting their lives on the line. This is about supporting them and protecting them,” 19th Ward Ald. Matt O’Shea said,

The ‘Get Behind the Vest’ campaign was started by the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation in 2014.