National Shooting Sports Foundation to
Manage
$50 Million Project ChildSafe Grant
NEWTOWN, Conn. - The U.S. Department of Justice has announced
that the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has been selected to
administer a $50 million grant for Project ChildSafe, the nation’s
largest and most comprehensive firearm safety education program. An expansion
of NSSF’s Project HomeSafe, Project ChildSafe will provide approximately
20 million free gun locks and firearm safety education materials to families
in all 50 states, the five U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.
“President Bush learned about Project ChildSafe
while governor of Texas, launched it there and pledged to expand the program’s
scope and support if he was elected president. He’s delivering on
that pledge now, and NSSF is honored to be selected to administer this
valuable safety program,” said Bill Brassard, Jr., NSSF managing
director, communications, safety and education.
Project ChildSafe is a component of Project Safe Neighborhoods,
a gun-violence prevention initiative of the Bush Administration.
“Because of NSSF’s experience and expertise
in the area of firearms safety, we are able to couple our lock giveaway
efforts with firearm safety education so that parents can understand the
importance of keeping guns secure in the home,” said Richard R. Nedelkoff,
former director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the DOJ division overseeing
the $50 million grant in support of Project ChildSafe.
Project ChildSafe will partner with governors and lieutenant
governors, U.S. Attorneys, mayors and local law enforcement to raise awareness
about safe and responsible firearms ownership and storage.
Project ChildSafe safety tours will utilize 15 education
vehicles to visit thousands of communities across America to distribute
the free gun locks and safety education materials. Tours are scheduled
to begin touring the country in late summer of 2003. For information about
Project ChildSafe, firearm safety and state tour information, visit www.projectchildsafe.org.
About NSSF: The National Shooting Sports Foundation,
with over 2,500 firearm industry members, was founded in 1961. The NSSF
manages a variety of outreach programs with special emphasis on safety
initiatives.
About Project Safe Neighborhoods: Project ChildSafe is
a component of President Bush’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN)
initiative to reduce gun-related crime and violence in America. PSN is
administered by the U.S. Department of Justice. For more information go
to www.psn.gov.
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