The 25th wedding anniversary is meant to be celebrated with a gift of silver, but for Henry Repeating Arms, the company's 25th anniversary celebration takes the form of a pledge: $1,000,000 to great causes. The company's Guns for Great Causes program has benefitted dozens of sick children, the Tunnels to Towers Foundation and more. Henry does this by creating custom, one-of-a-kind or limited-edition rifles and auctioning them off, with all of the proceeds going to the charity or family in question. The latest recipient is Shadow Warriors Project, to the tune of $52,175.
What's a Shadow Warrior? Well, as you no doubt know, America's military forces aren't the only Americans serving in wartime. The ranks are filled out with private contractors, all of whom risk their lives and health right alongside the soldiers. There's only one non-profit dedicated to providing post-engagement support for them, and that's Shadow Warriors Project. The Project was co-founded by Mark “Oz” Geist, a member of the CIA Annex Security Team that found itself the target of a terrorist attack on September 11, 2012, in Benghazi, Libya. (There, Geist is credited with saving the lives of more than 25 Americans.)
On the tenth anniversary of these attacks, Shadow Warriors Project held its first annual ‘Honor The Brave’ fundraising gala in Miami, Florida, where Henry Repeating Arms CEO and Founder Anthony Imperato presented Geist with a check for $25,000 to enhance their mission. Throughout the evening, three more donated Henry Repeating Arms rifles raised $2,150 from silent auctions. Then there's the one-of-a-kind rifle that went for a cool $25K at auction.
That Henry rifle is one of the most exclusive rifles ever built in Henry Repeating Arm’s 25-year history. Based on the 1860 patent for the first successful and practical repeating rifle, Henry Repeating Arms’ one-off auction gun boasts hand-chased engraving on a hardened brass receiver and a buttstock made from rare exhibition-grade American walnut wood. The engraving work includes the Shadow Warriors Project logo on one side and the Seal of the President of the United States on the opposite.
“We are thrilled with the auction results, and to anyone that placed a bid or helped to spread the word, I thank you sincerely,” said Imperato. “For sure, it’s a feather in our cap to have a rifle sell for so much, but it’s also a testament to Mark, his organization’s great work, and the unsung, under-the-radar group of men and women that Shadow Warriors Project is so dedicated to supporting. Everyone involved should be proud of what has been accomplished so far.”