They died in the line of duty, but they will never be forgotten.

In tribute to fallen police officers, firefighters and first responders, the Jim Thorpers bicycle team will pedal 65 miles from Philadelphia to Atlantic City on July 28.

The Jim Thorpers are a team under the auspices of Families Behind the Badge, an organization that raises money for families whose first responders were killed in the line of duty.

“This year, Chip Burnett, one of our regular riders, came up with an idea we’re calling Challenge Coins,” said Mike Dugan, captain of the bicycle team. “We will be sending custom-made commemorative coins to families of police officers killed this year. If there are children under the age of 18, then each child will get a coin.”

The Challenge Coins will be designed with a bicycle and the team’s name on one side, and the other side will depict an image of a first responder with the words “Never Forgotten” and “Rest in Peace.”

Twenty-four police officers and seven firefighters have reportedly died in action so far in 2019.

Dugan, a 46-year-old state trooper from Jim Thorpe, said that last year, 157 riders made the trek from Philadelphia to the Atlantic City near the Wall of Heroes in honor of fallen first responders.

“We are the second-largest team in the organization that has nearly 3,000 teams,” Dugan said. “Last year, we raised $72,000. We got $15,000 back from this total to give to local children’s charities.

“We’ve also donated money to the Carbon County Special Olympics and to the Masons’ Lodge so they could buy bicycles for needy children,” Dugan said.

To help one local family who suffered the loss of a loved one, Families Behind the Badge, formerly know as the Tour de Shore, arranged donations of $30,000 to each of the late Cpl. Bryon Dickson’s two sons and $5,000 to his widow. Dickson was shot and killed by Eric Frein outside the state police barracks in Blooming Grove in 2014.

“Our footprint has always been the greater Philadelphia area to the Jersey shore, but I asked the board if we could extend our reach in this case,” Families Behind the Badge founder Mark O’Connor said in 2015. “I didn’t even need to get 10 words out and the board unanimously approved a $5,000 donation to the family.”

Another organization the group works closely with, the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation, reached out to O’Connor and presented the $60,000 for Dickson’s two children.

At this year’s event, the Jim Thorpers will again be wearing their signature green and gold jerseys with a picture of Jim Thorpe, the athlete on the front and an image of the town on the back.

Dugan says the names Joshua Miller, a trooper killed in 2009, and Bryon Dickson will be printed along the sides of their shirts.

Anyone who wishes to make a donation to Families Behind the Badge may do so on the organization’s website.

For more information on the Jim Thorpers, visit the team’s Facebook page The Jim Thorpers Bicycle Team.