Grant provides new shooting sports, archery, and safety equipment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2026
For more information:
Alison Harrison, Marketing and Communications Director
James Parnell, Scout Executive
Virginia Beach, Va. – The NRA Foundation has awarded Scouting America Tidewater Council a grant totaling $8,084.00. The grant provides shooting sports, archery, and safety equipment for use at Pipsico Scout Reservation in Spring Grove, Va., and at Scout camps in Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach, Va.
“We are very excited about offering enhanced marksmanship opportunities as part of the comprehensive Scouting program,” said James Parnell, Scout Executive for Tidewater Council, “and pleased that the NRA Foundation is making an investment in our community.”
The grant provides new safety gear, ammunition, equipment, and archery supplies. Tidewater Council offers range and target activities as part of its character-building Scouting programs. In addition to education and safety training, Scouts enjoy archery and other range and target activities experiences at summer resident camps, day camps, and weekend events.
Scouting teaches life lessons centered on character, fitness, citizenship, and leadership development. Through Tidewater Council’s range and target activities programs, youth learn safe and responsible firearm handling, marksmanship and discipline, leadership and citizenship, appreciation of nature and natural resources, conservation ethics, and, for many, a lifelong hobby.
About Scouting America Tidewater Council
Established in 1911, Tidewater Council is the fifth oldest Scouting America council in the United States. Today, the council serves approximately 4,000 youth and 1,700 adult volunteers in the Virginia cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach, and the North Carolina counties of Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Pasquotank, and Perquimans. To learn more about Tidewater Council or to sign your child up for Scouting, visit TidewaterBSA.com, email [email protected], or call 757-497-2688.
About Scouting America
Scouting America provides the nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, which helps young people be “Prepared. For Life.®”
Scouting America welcomes all of America’s youth into its programs. Scouting aims to give them fantastic experiences in the outdoors, and elsewhere, where they can grow in a safe environment. More than 130 million Americans have participated in Scouting’s programs since its founding. Today, almost one million youth are served by 500,000 adult volunteers in local councils throughout the country.
To learn more about Scouting America’s mission, or to sign your child up for Scouting, visit BeAScout.org.
About the NRA Foundation
Established in 1990, the NRA Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to promoting firearm safety, education, and training programs throughout the United States. Through grants and partnerships, the Foundation supports law enforcement, youth shooting sports, range improvements, and educational initiatives that preserve America’s shooting and hunting heritage.
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