Leupold Tactical Joins 2011 Spirit of Blue Campaign
OutdoorHub 10.31.11
The Spirit of Blue Foundation announced today that Leupold & Stevens, Inc. (www.leupold.com) has officially joined as a Safety Grant Sponsor in the Spirit of Blue Campaign. Leupold is a fifth-generation, family owned company whose Tactical Optics staff works with American warfighters, law enforcement personnel and competitive shooters to design and build products that meet their specific needs. Currently, more long-range Leupold Tactical optics are in service with the U.S. military than any other brand.
“Leupold Tactical so clearly stands in support of the communities they sell into. They demonstrate that through their generous partnerships with non-profit organizations to give back to those service communities. They also do a fantastic job of employing former service members and police officers to develop next generation products for Tactical application,” stated Ryan T. Smith, Vice-Chairman of the Spirit of Blue Foundation.
“Supporting our nation’s law enforcement professionals is an important part of what we do here at Leupold & Stevens, Inc.,” says Kevin Trepa, VP of Leupold Tactical Division. “The Spirit of Blue Foundation is one of the non-profit groups that help us accomplish that mission.”
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 Leupold Tactical.
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, along with Leupold Tactical, 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.
