The Mt. Zion High School marching band and chorus received a $25,000 donation to help close the gap for the group's trip to Hawaii for the 2025 Pearl Harbor Parade. (Courtesy of Clayton County Public Schools)
The Mt. Zion High School marching band and chorus are hoping to close the funding gap needed to make the trip to Hawaii to join the Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade.
The students were invited to the annual event last year after performing in Washington, D.C. for the National Independence Day Parade. However, the group’s trip to Hawaii totaled close to $160,000.
According to the band’s director, Terrell Mitchell, funding for the trip was under half the amount for the entire trip before a donation from the Clayton County Public Schools Foundation.
“We were about 55 to $56,000 away from that goal before we got that $25,000, so it put us in an even better position,” Mitchell said.
The Clayton County Public Schools Foundation provides resources, such as scholarships, to schools and students throughout the district.
“We know that a lot of our students may not get this opportunity. So this is really a life-changing opportunity, and we know that they don’t know what they like until they’re exposed to it,” said Dr. Prince Bowie, the Director of Fine Arts for CCPS.
Band and chorus students, as well as staff, were presented with a check from district officials, including Superintendent Anthony Smith, during a brief assembly in the school’s gym earlier this month.
Activist and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick attends the assembly announcing a donation to Mt. Zion High School’s band and chorus for their trip to the 2025 Pearl Harbor Parade. (Courtesy of Clayton County Public Schools)
Activist and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick also attended, speaking to the group about their achievement.
“If you’re trying to stand out and have people know who you are and what you’ve accomplished, if you want you’re family to be proud of you, raise that bar,” Kaepernick said. “You are capable of more than you think you are.”
The trip expense will mostly cover travel arrangements, while some funds will be used for lodging and new apparel. The $25,000 donation will go towards the total cost.
Kimberly Grant, the principal of Mt. Zion High School, says the donation helps students access opportunities beyond the metro area.
“Sometimes it boils down to the exposed and the unexposed,” Grant said. “We want to make sure that our scholars in every organization are exposed to things beyond Mount Zion High School, beyond Clayton County, so that the goals they set are not minimal.”
As of now, the Mt. Zion High Marching Bulldogs and chorus are less than $30,000 away from meeting their goal by December.
