The "Beat It Like Beckett" and "Sweet Sadie" rifles. Photos courtesy Henry Repeating Arms; manipulation by A1F staff.
The Henry Repeating Arms Co. raised $78,250 for two children fighting leukemia. The company designed custom rifles with engravings honoring both children and sold all 126 within hours of posting them online.
“We are blessed to have such great customers that can get behind a campaign like this and help us make a difference in these families’ lives,” said Anthony Imperato, company president and CEO.
After seeing a picture of 4-year-old Beckett Burge of Princeton, Texas, which had gone viral online, Imperato contacted the family with an offer to raise funds via Henry’s Guns for Great Causes program. This resulted in a custom rifle featuring an engraved gold ribbon (the symbol for childhood cancer awareness) with the words “Beat It Like Beckett” engraved on its buttstock. Sixty of these rifles were made.
The other rifle was for 3-year-old Sadie Kreinbrink of Ostrander, Ohio. After Sadie was diagnosed with cancer, her family reached out to the gun maker. They designed a “Sweet Sadie” rifle for her with a pink bow—pink being Sadie’s favorite color. Sixty-six of these rifles were made since Sadie faced 66 weeks of chemotherapy treatments.
“Sadie’s and Beckett’s smiles stole my heart as soon as I saw the first photos,” Imperato told America’s 1st Freedom. “It’s hard to fathom the trials and tribulations they were going through with smiles on their faces at such young ages. We wish nothing but the best for Sadie and Beckett during the rest of their treatments.”
All proceeds from the rifle sales went to the families to assist with their medical expenses. Beckett’s family received more than $35,000, while Sadie’s garnered nearly $46,000. Serial No. 1 on both rifles was sold in January through gunbroker.com, and the remainder via Henry’s website: henryusa.com.
Baron Technology Inc. of Trumbull, Conn., donated engraving services for both rifles. “We are so proud to play our small role in supporting Sadie and Beckett in their fight, and we are honored to have been given the opportunity to help,” said David Miles, president. He noted that engraving products to make products unique and beautiful is “what we do every day at Baron Engraving, but having the opportunity to help families in need is special, and we need to always make time for it.”
Henry Repeating Arms’ Guns for Great Causes program has been donating to youth organizations since 2006. Its first campaign benefitting a child battling a medical condition was in 2014, noted Dan Clayton-Luce, Henry’s communications director.
