NRA's Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program comes to Houston

Fairfax, Virginia – Before Eddie Eagle shows up at this weekend's 142nd NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Houston, he has to meet with some very important people - children.

Today and tomorrow, in a lead-up to the NRA convention downtown, the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program will be presenting its lifesaving message to school children around the greater Houston area with help from the Houston Metro Police Department.

Created in 1988 by past NRA President Marion P. Hammer, with assistance from child psychologists, elementary schoolteachers and law enforcement officers, Eddie Eagle has taught more than 26 million pre-K through third graders:

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Meet Eddie Eagle and learn his important safety message at NRA Annual Meeting in Houston

Fairfax, Virginia - Although tens of thousands of people will converge on Houston from May 3-5 for the 2013 NRA Annual Meeting, one person will easily stand out - rather, one bird.

Eddie Eagle is the mascot of the NRA's Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program, a likable eagle who has a very important message for youngsters. Eddie doesn't teach whether guns are good or bad, but promotes the protection and safety of children. He travels around the country to make sure kids know:

“If you see a gun: STOP! Don’t Touch. Leave the Area. Tell an Adult."

No firearms are ever used in the program and are merely treated as facts of life like swimming pools, electrical outlets, matchbooks and household poison.

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Arizona business says contribution is "important to all of us at the core of the current debate on gun control"

Tuscon, Arizona Late last year, NRA's Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program reached an important milestone; 26 million kids. That's 26 million pre-k through 3rd graders who sang along and learned Eddie's lifesaving message of "Stop! Don't Touch! Leave the Area. Tell an Adult."

Thanks to that message, along with the coloring books, DVDs and other instructional items that come along with it, America's accidental firearm fatality rates have fallen steadily for decades.

The program centers around the Eddie Eagle mascot costume. Available to law enforcement agencies only, the costume captures the children's attention and draws them in. Problem is that the costume isn't cheap.

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Years after attending Youth Education Summit, alum remains active in community

Fairfax, Virginia - 2011 Youth Education Summit participant Amanda Krpan had an amazing experience at the week long educational experience here in Washington D.C.

When we checked in with the Florida native last year, she was still very active in her community and had just taught the Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program to over 200 Cub Scouts.

Well, she's at it again. Amanda brought Eddie's important message to a brand new group of Cub Scouts and couldn't wait to share the experience with us:

I hope all is well with you and the other YES staff! I know you all are probably hard at work getting ready for this years YES program and I thought I would let you guys know what I did this past weekend!

Saturday Feb 2, I went to Melrose, Florida to teach Cub Scouts at “Buc Tuocs” gun safety with Eddie Eagle, just like last year. The directors liked the program so much they asked me to come back and do it again this year!

We did seven sessions of the program again, but what I found wonderful was that the scouts who went through the program last year remembered Eddie and his message. The kids loved him and wanted to volunteer to be my helpers this time around when we role played with the skits.

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NRA's child safety program reaches its 26th millionth child in 2012

One of the best programs I think we have here at NRA is Eddie Eagle GunSafe. A likable eagle mascot who visits elementary schools across the country, Eddie doesn't teach whether guns are good or bad, but promotes the protection and safety of children. No firearms are ever used in the program and are merely treated as facts of life like swimming pools, electrical outlets, matchbooks and household poison.

Created in 1988 by past NRA President Marion P. Hammer and with help from elementary school teachers, law enforcement officers, and child psychologists, the program provides pre-K through third grade children easy-to-follow rules should they ever encounter a firearm while unsupervised: “If you see a gun: STOP! Don’t Touch. Leave the Area. Tell an Adult."

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Working towards NRA scholarship by taking Eddie Eagle to Elementary Schools in North Carolina

Every summer, the National Rifle Association gathers students from across the nation for a summit. A week-long educational experience where almost fifty high school sophomores and juniors tour monuments, attend lectures and listen to experts on the what it means to be an active and valuable citizen of the United States.

Part of that process includes an opportunity to help pay for college – but only for those who are willing to go that extra mile. Its known as the Grand Scholarship and it all depends on what they bring back to their community.

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From law enforcement to education, everyone's doing their part to keep our kids safe

Eddie Eagle may have a big presence with members of law enforcement to teach his safety message, but let's not forget the individuals in education who also help him reach our youth. The Eddie Eagle staff recently caught up with a school counselor in Texas who's doing her part and profiled her for their bi-annual newsletter The Eagle Eye.

Laurie Rodriguez, a school counselor in Texas, has been implementing the Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program since 2005.

Ms. Rodriguez first heard about the program after searching online for “Gun Safety” after several reports throughout the school year of children bringing guns to school. After finding the Eddie Eagle website, www.nrahq.org/safety/eddie, she discovered that grant funding was available to educators. She was then able to receive the program materials, at no cost, and supply her school with safety materials.

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Learning Eddie Eagle's safety message in Western Pennsylvania

There are so many great stories about Eddie Eagle's safety message reaching children all over the United States. In the most recent Eagle Eye newsletter, we learned about Eddie is doing great work with the Allegheny County Sheriff's Department in the Pittsburgh area:

The Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program is very proud to have the opportunity to work with hundreds of law enforcement agencies around the country. Every year the program hears great stories of Eddie’s success and the tremendous impact that Eddie Eagle has on local communities.

Lately, the program heard how the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Department has implemented the Eddie Eagle Program into its annual operations, resulting in great benefit to the Allegheny County community.

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Ten-year volunteer helps children stay safe in the sunshine state

John Gluck of Seminole, Florida, has been a volunteer with the Eddie Eagle program for roughly ten years. During his tenure, he has reached over 200 children a year in his Florida community. He strives to get to as many schools, events, or other gatherings as he possibly can in order to get Eddie’s life-saving message out there to the public.

“It’s a fantastic program,” said Gluck. “We thank the Friends of NRA for all they do in order for us to receive the materials at no cost. I love the program.”

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