The Minden Police Association (MPA) is holding a 30 Guns in 30 Days fundraiser during the month of August to help pay for equipment and additional training for the Minden Police Department’s Special Response Team (SRT).
The Special Response Team is headed by Lt. Cheatham and Lt. Curry, and is essentially a SWAT team which takes on some of the most dangerous duties police officers face.
“We want our guys to be safe,” said Sgt. Shane Griffith. “They run all the high-risk search warrants and narcotics warrants. If we have a major crime, they’ll run all of that.”
The raffle will run August 1 through August 30, with a gun being given away each day. Plus, on the first four Wednesdays of the month, a 35-quart Yeti cooler will also be given to that day’s lucky gun winner.
It will cost $100 to enter the raffle, but that entry makes you eligible to win every day, even if you’ve already won one.
“In a lot of raffles like this, once you’re picked, your name comes out. But that’s not the case with this one,” said Griffith. “Your name goes back in the hopper.”
There will be a wide variety of guns raffled off: AR style, pistols, deer rifles, shotguns, .22s, and others. The Minden Police Association purchased the guns from Jaxon Rowell, the owner of a local gun shop called Hope Creek Munitions. Some of the Yeti coolers were provided compliments of Ace Hardware and Mel Smith’s Marine.
“It’s going to a good cause,” Griffith said. “Our SRT team will still be training in our schools to keep our kids safe. They’ll be training in every school in the parish. They’ll be available to other agencies — smaller agencies — that don’t have an SRT team for high-risk warrants or if a school situation were to happen.”
The drawings will be aired live on the MPA Facebook page, and the prizes can be claimed every Friday after the first drawing from 10 AM until noon at the Minden Police Department. All winners must pass a federal background check to claim their firearms.
You can purchase a ticket from any SRT member, from the police station, or online through the Minden Police Association’s Facebook page. They will accept cash, checks, or credit cards (there’s an additional $5 fee for credit cards), but remember, “if your check bounces, we’re coming to get you.”