Industry Generosity

It’s the holiday season, that time of year when the odds greatly increase that an anti-gun party crasher using a drink in each hand for balance will stagger you into a corner for a debate. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of being polite. This year I’m firing back, with some solid information on the charitable work done by the shooting industry during 2013.

Hornady just made a donation in excess of $38,000 to the GRACE Foundation, which is dedicated to helping cancer patients, their families and the survivors. If the drunk doesn’t care about health care, bring up public safety-including theirs. Lewis Machine & Tool Company donated $5,350 to the National Tactical Officers Association.

Then, of course, the industry always takes care of those in uniform. Earlier this year Glock gave $100,000 to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Pease Greeters, an organization that welcomes servicemen and women passing through Pease International Airport, received $25,000 from SIG Sauer. Honored American Veterans Afield (HAVA) received $50,000 from Smith & Wesson.

Yamaha Outdoors donated a fully rigged Rhino as a grand prize in a drawing that raised money for HAVA and Feed the Children. Rocky Brands donated more than $100,000 to Give Breast Cancer the Boot.

That’s a short list, one even dead voters in Chicago can appreciate. I deliberately left out all the firearm-related donations.

Then there are those small things that go on all the time, with little or absolutely no fanfare. It’s just the right thing to do.

I was contacted by someone in the Army (name withheld) to ascertain if I knew anyone in the industry who would donate hats and ammo to a special hunt for wounded SOCOM soldiers. No photos, no interviews and, as you may have noticed, no details could be released. I’m not releasing anything (because these guys could hunt me down and hurt me), except for the fact Federal Premium stepped up to the plate with the requested gear. That’s about all the publicity the company can expect, and it knew so before sending the gear. How awesome is that?

And, in the 10 years I worked at NRA headquarters there was always a Toys for Tots donation box in the lobby in December. I’m not at my desk this year, but the box was-as I’m certain similar, small and from-the-heart programs are in every single firearms-related company in the nation.