Metallica to Donate $1.6 Million to 23 Community Colleges
Metallica’s All Within My Hands charity foundation has been very generous since its launch a few years back, donating proceeds from Metallica concerts, auctions and other fundraisers to causes benefiting wildfire relief, Covid-19 frontline workers and more. Education has been one of their main focuses, with the Metallica Scholars Initiative centered around community colleges in particular.
Now the Metallica Scholars Initiative will expand its nationwide program from 15 community colleges to 23, with plans to donate $1.6 million this year. The expansion comes as the initiative “outpaced expectations,” seeing both the colleges and their students benefit measurably from the donations.
Press copy reads:
“Final reports from all 15 schools in 2020 proved that, even with the obvious complications presented by a pandemic, each school selected for the Metallica Scholars grant successfully modified programming to provide students with industry-relevant applied learning programs based on local demands. Funding served over 1,000 students at community colleges across the US in career and technical training programs last year, and outcomes exceeded expectations.
“From Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte: ‘97.6% of the Metallica Scholars scheduled to graduate in the spring or summer 2020 semesters were successful. Students across ten different academic health programs were supported by Metallica Scholars funds. Certification exam pass rates and employment rates of those who were eligible exceeded 90%.’
“While high rates of achievement are certainly proof that the Metallica Scholars Initiative is accomplishing its goals, the Foundation finds inspiration from personal anecdotes shared by the students themselves. Emma-Lynn Ponds, a welding scholar from Valencia College, articulates how her training goes beyond establishing a career path when she says, ‘The whole reason I’m doing this is because I wanna be the first in my family to break the cycle of poverty.’
You can donate or become involved with Metallica’s All Within My Hands foundation right here.