Regal Products’ Rewarding Legacy with Project ChildSafe® Continues

“We’re honored to be an ongoing part of NSSF’s Project ChildSafe® program, which aligns perfectly with our passion for firearm safety,” says Shawn Kitchell, CEO of Regal Products. “We’re extremely proud of our integral role in helping families stay safe from tragic firearm incidents.”

About NSSF (National Shooting Sports Foundation)

Founded in 1961, NSSF is the firearms industry trade association, representing manufacturers, distributors, retailers, shooting ranges, and other organizations involved in hunting and shooting sports.

In 1999, NSSF launched Project ChildSafe® — originally known as Project HomeSafe—which has become the largest, most comprehensive firearm safety education program in the United States to promote firearms responsibility, while also providing safety education to all gun owners, young adults, and children. Project ChildSafe distributes free firearm safety kits containing a cable gun lock and a brochure (also available in Spanish) that covers safe firearm handling and secure storage guidelines to help deter access by unauthorized individuals.

How Regal Products Became Involved

In 1999, Project HomeSafe kicked off in five cities, a modest beginning for a program that quickly grew, changed its name to Project ChildSafe through the urging of then-Texas Gov. George Bush, and today has partnered with more than 15,000 law enforcement agencies across the country. Current NSSF President and CEO and Chairman of the Project ChildSafe Foundation, Joe Bartozzi, an executive at Mossberg in the ‘90s, made Regal Products (then Regal Industrial Sales) aware of an opportunity to supply cable gun locks to the program. Eventually, Regal Products became a core supplier of Project ChildSafe safety kits, which include a gun lock and a safety brochure.

A Growing Part of the Solution

Initially, Regal Products was one of only four suppliers as part of a multi-million dollar federal grant to fund the supply of cable gun locks to the program. Over time, Regal Products has become the program’s primary supplier, providing the majority of the cable gun locks to Project ChildSafe® – including locks with a custom logo and messaging, and gun safety literature.

“NSSF has been instrumental in bridging the firearms industry with gun safety and suicide prevention organizations outside of the industry,” says recently retired Regal Products executive Pat Farchione. “That’s where we fit in, by managing inventory and order fulfillment that Project ChildSafe distributes through these partners.”

Today, these partnerships include more than 15,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide — and growing, with 5-10 daily requests from various organizations to distribute locks at events. Project ChildSafe has provided more than 41 million free firearm safety kits to gun owners in all 50 states and the five U.S. territories, helping to prevent firearms accidents, theft, and misuse. That’s in addition to the more than 70 million free locking devices manufacturers have included with new firearms sold since 1998 and continue to today.

A Lasting Relationship Built On Trust

According to Bill Brassard, Jr., Senior Director of Communications at NSSF, Regal Products' growing commitment to Project ChildSafe is due to the company’s reliability, dependability, and flexibility, which is very important in managing the sprawling reach of the program. “I’m very pleased that Regal Products is a part of this program,” says Brassard. “Regal has been a dependable supplier and partner during three decades of Project ChildSafe.”

Bartozzi adds, ”Regal Products' involvement in child safety and suicide prevention is deep in their DNA,  a commitment to safety that’s important to a program like Project ChildSafe.” 

What’s Next?

Regal Products is supporting Gun Storage Check Week with NSSF September 1-7, where we’ll be providing gun storage cases to give away, along with START Kits for first-time gun owners,” says Kitchell.

“Our partnership with Project ChildSafe was our first big contract that put us on the map,” says Farchione. ”It feels great supplying such an important product to keep families and communities safer. It’s a legacy I’m very proud of.”

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