NRA Youth Programs Put Brownells Foundation Endowment Into Action

In the Fall of 2002, Frank Brownell, President of Brownells®, the Iowa-based gunsmithing supply house announced the Brownell Family Foundation’s support of the NRA’s Youth Programs, to the tune of $500,000. The initial gift of $250,000 is now being used by the NRA to produce program materials which will soon be in the hands of young shooters nationwide.

According to Brownell, “I’ll never forget as a little kid sitting with Dad, my Stevens single-shot rifle on my knees, his flintlock on his, waiting in the glorious fall sun for a squirrel to appear amidst the rustling foliage. Or all the hours ‘plinking’; or the big game hunts. Those experiences are a part of who I am, and the opportunity for our kids to experience them cannot be allowed to perish. The NRA believes in the importance of shooting as strongly as we at Brownells do. Through its programs, NRA links our shooting past and present to the future, and helps make sure that our traditions continue for our kids and grandkids. We truly feel investing in our youth and the shooting sports is the best way to guarantee our freedoms, and a strong future for the NRA and America.”

He went on to explain how the whole endowment came about. “I first talked with The NRA Foundation in 1993 about permanently endowing one of NRA’s youth programs. This was something we could do as a company, and a family, that could really help the kids who didn’t have the luxury of being raised with firearms, hunting and shooting as a part of their lives. We made our first long-term pledge to the Foundation then to fund the Brownell Family Endowment, for $250,000, and doubled our initial pledge in 2002 for a total commitment of $500,000."

With funding in place, the next step was to select the specific program. The Brownell family chose to become a permanent sponsor of NRA’s National Youth Shooting Sports Camp Program. There are roughly 90 of these camps across the U.S., and they get about 10,000 kids out shooting annually, teaching them all aspects of the shooting sports. As Brownell said, “Programs like this are critical to giving kids the chance to hunt and shoot. They continue the culture, the traditions, in which you and I were raised.”

Brownells is the world’s largest supplier of firearms accessories, gunsmithing tools and specialty equipment for professional and amateur gunsmiths. Since 1939, Brownells has provided gunsmiths, collectors and shooters with selection, service and satisfaction that are unmatched in the industry. Today, Brownells stocks more than 29,000 items to accessorize, repair, protect and preserve firearms. The company’s catalog, now available in print and online versions, is the largest and most comprehensive available in the gunsmithing field. For more information, call 800-741-0015, Dept. #954.

Media Contacts: Larry Weeks, (641) 623-8071 or larryw@brownells.com