Bryan High School AFJROTC Receives a Grant from The NRA Foundation

Friends of NRA event attendees not only have a good time, but support a great cause. All net event proceeds from Friends of NRA events support local, state, and national shooting sports programs through The NRA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Friends of NRA has raised more than $1 billion gross dollars for The NRA Foundation since their inception in 1992. Through those funds, The NRA Foundation’s grant program has awarded more than $457 million dollars through 57,000 grants to programs such as youth clubs, range improvement initiatives, women’s programs, and so on.

One 2022 grant recipient is the American Legion Earl Graham Post No. 15, which is the sponsoring organization for the Bryan High School Air Force JROTC Marksmanship Program in Bryan, Texas. Last year, they received a grant for over $2,780 from The NRA Foundation, and this year’s grant was for over $3,650. The 2022 grant will allow the JROTC program to purchase four additional air rifles, eight shooting mats, eight kneeling rolls, and a portable air tank. Jeffrey Bounds, the AFJROTC Senior Aerospace Science Instructor at Bryan High School explained, “The grant allows us to fully field one varsity team and one junior varsity team with their own rifles and equipment. Team members can now use the same rifles they practice with for competitions without having to constantly redial their rifles because someone else used them.”

Through the Bryan High School Air Force JROTC, students learn invaluable skills such as leadership, teamwork, time-management, self-discipline, responsibility, and communication. The AFJROTC marksmanship program is one of the most popular leadership development activities that is offered to cadets outside of the classroom. Currently, the marksmanship team has 14 students who compete nationally against other JROTC high schools in the three-position air rifle matches.

Bounds stated, “We are very grateful for The NRA Foundation grant. Prior to receiving the grant, our marksmanship team shared equipment with our local American Legion Junior Shooting Sports Program.” He added, “The grant gives the team a sense of pride knowing they now have their own equipment for competitions.”

Join us for a Friends of NRA event near you, where you can have fun, support the Second Amendment, and invest in the next generation of the shooting sports in your community. For information on applying for a NRA Foundation grant, please visit https://www.nrafoundation.org/grants