The NRA Foundation has awarded the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Dept.—which protects and serves more than one million citizens across a 546-square-mile area that include Charlotte, N.C.—a grant totaling $6,000. The funds will be used to equip school resource officers assigned the responsibility of protecting schools and students.
“We are very excited about being the recipients of this grant,” said Sheriff Robert W. “Bobby” Hawkins Jr., adding,” and we are pleased that the NRA is making an investment in the protection of our schools and community.”
The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Dept. recently received funding for four new school resource officer positions for two secondary schools and two primary schools through a Department of Criminal Justice grant to place additional law enforcement resources in the county’s school system. The grant from The NRA Foundation will provide Colt firearms to those officers and will be used to protect the students of Mecklenburg County Public Schools and Mecklenburg County citizens as well.
“Many thanks to Mr. Lee, Mr. Wells, and the members of the Friends of NRA that supported this grant for the safety of our new middle and high school complex,” said Mecklenburg County School Superintendent Paul Nichols. “Our new school facility was designed to provide the best safety features available … but no built-in features are as important to us as our team of SROs [school resource officers]. They work so hard to support and interact with our students and staff, realizing that their first priority is to establish good relationships with the students, particularly those that come to our schools from difficult home circumstances.”
“However, they are always prepared to deal with any significant threat that may come, and have tragically come to schools throughout our state and nation,” Nichols added. “This donation provides a critical resource that is necessary for them to face that threat, and for this purpose, we are very grateful for this support.”
The grant idea arose after a conversation between Nichols and Clarksville’s John Lee regarding school safety and the new school’s state-of-the-art security. Following that conversation, Lee was the driving force behind the grant and worked hand in hand with Nichols, Sheriff Hawkins, and David Wells, NRA Eastern Regional Director.
“We are pleased to have played a small role in making Mecklenburg County Schools safer through this resources grant,” stated Wells, adding, “However, the real credit for this funding belongs to the many volunteers, donors, and supporters of the Friends of NRA program that work tirelessly to support our cause and mission of supporting the shooting sports, including the local and very popular Southside Friends of NRA Committee.”
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