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- EIN 31-1588022
- 901 Western Ave Pittsburgh PA 15233-1719 USA
- http://GoodsForGuns.org
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Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Crime & Law, Crime Prevention, Disaster Aid, Education, Graduate & Professional Schools, Safety Education
Mission: We must allow our children to live in a safe environment and to this end we will not tolerate having a child as part of the terrible national statistic of up to a classroom size number of children dying each day from firearms. In this effort, we will continue to join forces with individuals, groups of citizens, corporations, foundations, health care centers and schools that have committed themselves to no longer accepting the death, from a gun, of even one child or adolescent.
Programs: Since 1994, Goods for Guns has removed over 6,000 operable firearms from the community through an annual buyback program which takes place on the first two Saturdays of December. Gift certificates to major regional merchants are given in the amount of $50 for handguns and $25 for rifles and shotguns. In addition, to kick off the program, we hold a Candlelight Vigil memorial service for the victims of gun injury during the past twelve months.
At the buyback events, which are currently held at three locations in the county, Goods for Guns also hands out free gun locks and safety literature. While there is no mandatory information requirement for participants, a survey is made of all those willing, in an attempt to determine by ZIP code the origin of the weapon and the attitudes of the participant toward the program and gun violence.
In a 'swords to plowshares' effort, collected firearms are effectively destroyed by welding shut the hammer or firing chamber, and, since 1997, are used in artwork. This resulted in a national show of metalwork jewelry and sculpture called Artists of a Different Caliber.