Robert Trujillo is ready to help educate and train essential workers…
The 56-year-old half-Mexican American musician and songwriter and his Metallica band mates are celebrating raising more than $377,000 over the Labor Day weekend through the group’s All Within My Hands Foundation.
The heavy metal icons teamed up with workwear brand Carhartt on the initiative, with the clothing brand donating all of their sales proceeds on Monday to the band’s Metallica Scholars initiative, which provides opportunities to people interested in pursuing essential workforce jobs.
“Thank you, Carhartt! Thank you, shoppers! Thank you, AWMH supporters! Labor Day was an exciting day for All Within My Hands,” AWMH tweeted on Tuesday night (Sept. 7). “You helped raise $377,450! We are excited to turn this donation into more training, more tools, and more certifications by expanding our program to reach even more people interested in the skilled trades across the US.”
“Carhartt and All Within My Hands are bound by our shared passion for supporting workforce education,” said AWMH executive director Dr. Edward Frank in a statement. “As two organizations dedicated to providing opportunity, we hope to expand the Metallica Scholars program to include even more schools this year and to get even more students trained for a career in the skilled trades.”
The campaign tapped into a bit of Metallica history, reaching back almost four decades to the legendary classified ad drummer Lars Ulrich placed in a Los Angeles newspaper that teamed him with singer James Hetfield. The want ad promoting the Labor Day event aimed to recruit a new generation to take on skilled trades as the nation faces a labor shortage, especially in the live events space, according to AWMH.
“A few lucky job seekers who answered the ad attended the stage-building workshop hosted by our friends at Upstaging, who have worked with Metallica for decades and put on shows for some of the biggest names in the music and entertainment business,” the band’s charitable foundation said.
