Spirit of Blue and Bushmaster Firearms Partnership continues in 2011
After a successful fund raising effort in 2010, the Spirit of Blue Foundation and Bushmaster Firearms International (www.bushmaster.com) partnered to award a Bushmaster Patrolman’s Carbine to law enforcement agencies in New Berlin, WI; Cedar Rapids, IA; Chicago, IL; New York City, NY; and the State of Maine. This valuable partnership is being renewed for a larger campaign in 2011 with the goal of providing critical safety equipment grants on a broader scale than ever before.
“Bushmaster’s partnership with the Spirit of Blue last year was invaluable,” stated Todd Parola, Chairman of the Spirit of Blue Foundation. “As a newly formed non-profit with big dreams it was validating for Bushmaster to acknowledge the value of what the Spirit of Blue was trying to accomplish. But the true value they brought was in providing the product awarded to the five grant recipients and going above and beyond by matching our grant funds to essentially double the impact of the program.”
Five non-profit organizations actively supporting the law enforcement community have already teamed up with the Spirit of Blue Foundation for the 2011 holiday campaign that launched in October. Those organizations – The National Troopers Coalition, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, National Sheriff’s Association, Chicago Police Memorial Foundation and the Jeffrey S. Parola Foundation – represent roughly 125,000 officers, deputies and agents nationwide. As partners they are promoting the sale of the Spirit of Blue’s blue ribbon holiday wreath honoring and benefitting the law enforcement community. Consumers who purchase the product during the Campaign will be allowed to select which non-profit they would like to see benefitted from the sale and the Foundation will donate a portion of the proceeds accordingly. At the same time, consumers will be asked to nominate a law enforcement agency that they would like to be considered to receive a Safety Grant award. At the end of the Campaign, the Spirit of Blue Safety Grant Program randomly selects nominated law enforcement agencies to receive a safety grant award. The safety grants will be redeemable exclusively through the consortium of Safety Grant Partners made up of law enforcement equipment brands such as Bushmaster Firearms.
Preliminary statistics through October 2011 released by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, in conjunction with Concerns of Police Survivors, revealed the number of U.S. law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty rose 21% percent over the same period in 2010. Firearm-related deaths reached 53, an increase of 29% from the same period in 2010. The reality of these statistics and the increasing number of underfunded law enforcement agencies across the country fueled the safety grant initiative.
The Spirit of Blue Foundation, together with Bushmaster Firearms, is asking consumers to ‘get in the Spirit of Blue’ this holiday season by purchasing the Spirit of Blue wreath and giving back to the law enforcement community. The wreaths are available for purchase through December 19th and winners of safety grants will be announced in early February 2012. To learn more about the Spirit of Blue campaign, or to order a Spirit of Blue wreath, visit www.spiritofblue.com.