NSSF-AFSP-VA Webcast on Protecting Mental Health and Preventing Suicides During COVID-19
If you missed the premiere of the webcast “Protecting Mental Health and Preventing Suicide During COVID-19,” the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) reminds everyone that the webcast is available for viewing at your convenience on the U.S. Concealed Carry Association’s YouTube channel. The webcast can be viewed here.
A core message of the webcast is that securely storing firearms and other methods of harming oneself can play a huge role in deterring suicide. Creating time and space between a person with suicidal thoughts and access to a means of self-harm, such as a firearm, can create a moment of pause, allowing the period of heightened risk to pass.
Recognizing that 50 percent of all suicides are by firearm and that among veterans the figure is 70 percent, NSSF has in recent years helped develop a program with AFSP and a program with VA to educate industry, gun owners including veterans and their families about caring for their mental health and preventing suicide.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK, or text TALK to 741741.
S3DA Announces Virtual Archer Scouting Program
Scholastic 3-D Archery (S3DA) understands that High School Junior and Senior athletes have missed a significant opportunity for recruitment to Collegiate Archery. While everyone is waiting out this global pandemic, Scholastic 3-D Archery has created a Virtual Scouting Program for S3DA Juniors and Seniors. The goal of this program is to encourage members to stay actively engaged and motivated until the regular season schedule.
S3DA members that are current Juniors and Seniors in the program are asked to participate in the S3DA Virtual Scouting Program by completing the 2020 S3DA Virtual Scouting Profile Questionnaire and uploading a video of themselves shooting in their respective college or university team jersey or their S3DA club/team jersey. If any senior has already signed with a college or university, they are still eligible to participate. They simply need to include a brief statement in their post with information on what college or university that they have signed with. S3DA members are encouraged to register here.
CSF, Industry Partners Lead #ResponsibleRecreation Media Campaign
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), with other conservation partners such as National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Trout Unlimited, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies are leading a media campaign called #ResponsibleRecreation as an effort to encourage Americans to responsibly enjoy outdoor recreation while adhering to COVID-19 safety practices.
The conservation community is promoting the #ResponsibleRecreation campaign as a valuable way to encourage people to get outside and enjoy the outdoors as a means to cope with the current COVID-19 pandemic. Hunting, fishing, recreational shooting and other outdoor opportunities are rational ways to engage in activities in the outdoors that support mental and physical well-being while also supporting safe social distancing.
The campaign also encourages Americans to take advantage of the numerous opportunities our nation offers to recreate on public lands and waters. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, CSF and other partners have been working with governors and other state leaders to keep these viable opportunities open.
For more information about the campaign, please visit www.responsible-recreation.org.
NASP Grants Over a Decade of In-School Archery
The National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) is a non-profit organization founded in Kentucky that serves millions of students in thousands of schools across 12 countries.
To participate in the NASP, a school has to adopt archery as part of its in-school curriculum, most often the physical education class, a teacher must undergo a one-day workshop to become a Basic Archery Instructor and the school needs to acquire the basic archery equipment kit to teach and practice archery. Each kit contains 12 Genesis Bows, 10 dozen Easton arrows, one BCY backstop curtain, a bow rack and five target butts by any of the four that are approved for use in NASP; Morrell, Feradyne, Rinehart and/or American Whitetail Targets.
Thanks to generous donations from Easton Foundations and BassPro/Cabelas, the average grant awarded to a new NASP school is about $800.
The 2021 archery season is just around the corner and students look forward to using their new equipment to learn and hone their skills. For more information on NASP news and updates, go to www.naspschools.org.
