Metallica Donate $1 Million to Community Colleges
Metallica have been very active with their All Within My Hands charity foundation lately. An acoustic show held at San Francisco’s Masonic last month raised more than $1.3 million, the proceeds from a special limited edition vinyl release of that concert will also go towards charity, and they straight up gave $100,000 cash to help victims of the California wildfires.
Metallica’s next philanthropic effort: donating $1 million to community colleges. The band had previously name-checked the American Association of Community Colleges as an organization to which they’d be distributing funds raised at the acoustic concert, so the latest press release could simply have been issued to provide more details about that. Either way, it’s got to feel satisfying for those who attended to know exactly where their donations are going, and it’s fantastic that Metallica are holding themselves so publicly accountable. Here’s the copy:
“Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation (AWMH) has launched a major workforce education initiative that provides direct support to community colleges to enhance their career and technical education programs. These programs provide skills and services to students who are looking to enter a traditional trade or other applied learning program. Ten colleges from across the country will receive $100,000 to support more than 1,000 students training to enter the American workforce. These students will become the first cohort of Metallica Scholars.
“Partnering with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), a Washington, D.C. based organization that represents the nation’s 1,103 community colleges, the Metallica Scholars awards were selected via a competitive application process and are designed to provide support of relevant job skill training for community college students, reinvest in communities that supported Metallica during its recent United States tours, and leverage the influence of Metallica to elevate the importance of career and technical education.”
Walter G. Bumphus, AACC’s president and CEO, commented of the partnership:
“We welcome Metallica as a partner in the career and technical education work of the nation’s community colleges. Colleges across the country provide pathways to well-paying jobs through programs, services and training that lead to in-demand skills, certificates and degrees for students. These programs are responsive to the needs of local businesses and provide a pipeline of qualified workers to local industry. It’s a win-win for our students and the local economy. For Metallica to see the benefit of these programs and invest in the communities that have supported them is a testament to the power of education and we are proud to do this work with them.”
Here are the ten colleges that have been chosen to receive the grants:
Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte, North Carolina
Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, Oregon
College of Lake County, Grayslake, Illinois
Community College of Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland
Gateway Technical College, Kenosha, Wisconsin
Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Lone Star College, The Woodlands, Texas
North Idaho College, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
Spokane Community College, Spokane, Washington
Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology, Wichita, Kansas
