Turn Their Welding Careers on Full Blast

Double Your Impact This Big Day of Giving! The first $10,000 donated will be matched by a generous gift from The RCA Fund of the Sacramento Region Community Foundation — doubling the power of your generosity!

Every gift, no matter the size, brings us one step closer to helping American River College Welding Technology students achieve their dreams.

Here’s how your donation helps: For every $500 donated, we can provide a Finish Line Scholarship to a graduating American River College Welding Technology student. This includes a full set of professional-grade welding tools and personal protective equipment — everything they need to safely and successfully launch their careers.

These scholarships remove financial barriers for students who have worked tirelessly to reach the finish line. Let’s help them cross it with confidence.

TURN 40 WELDING CAREERS ON FULL BLAST

Good quality tools and safety gear are essential for professional welders. Can’t afford them? Well, you simply don’t get hired as fast or in the kind of welding job and career path you dream of.  

As one of our region’s most respected Welding Technology training programs, American River College is currently serving nearly 600 students, with a wait list for every single Welding class it offers.  

This Big Day of Giving, light up the way for our next generation of well-trained welders ready to work right here in our community.  

Spark a career start by helping fully fund 40 $500 American River College Welding Technology Finish Line Scholarships. Each $500 scholarship pays for a complete set of high-quality welding tools and personal protection equipment for one graduating ARC Welding Technology student, and includes:

- VIKING™ 2450 ADV Series Black Helmet K3028-5 
- Leather Welding Work Jacket Flame-Resistant Heavy Duty 
- Lincoln Electric Heavy Duty MIG/Stick Welding Gloves 
- DEWALT Angle Grinder 
- Electric MIG Welding Pliers 
- Welding Chipping Hammer and Wire Brush
- IRWIN VISE-GRIP Original Locking Pliers with Wire Cutter, Curved Jaw, 10-Inch 
- Safety Glasses 

Total:  $500 for one ARC Welding Technology Finish Line Scholarship 

Give today. Change a future.

MISSION

Los Rios Community College District has been enriching our Sacramento region for more than 50 years. As our district and colleges have grown, so has our commitment to delivering outstanding educational opportunities for the more than 60,000 students we serve each year — half of whom are low income, 30% live below the poverty line and more than 25% are the first in their family to attend college.  

MEETING WELDING WORKFORCE DEMAND

Welders literally build our communities for us. America’s welding industry continues experiencing a shortage of workers due to steady industry growth. American Welding Society reports the average age of a welder in the U.S. is 57. Each year, more welders are retiring than new welders coming into the industry.

Established in 1955, Los Rios’ American River College campus has one of the finest Welding Technology training programs around. We’re distinctive compared to other community college Welding Technology programs because our students pay nothing for personal protective equipment, textbooks, lab costs and all tools and materials needed to complete their classes and hands-on training.  

We’ve been so successful in increasing access and affordability that enrollment recently increased by 23 percent. Today, we have nearly 600 students in ARC’s Welding Technology program and full waitlists for almost every Welding class ARC offers.

Our students work tirelessly – balancing classes, jobs and family responsibilities – to earn their ARC Welding Associates in Science degrees and specialty training certifications.   

We keep a close eye on our graduating students. Those who can afford to buy their own tools and personal protective equipment after graduating get hired faster. Your gift ensures we can fulfill our mission of providing a vibrant learning environment and empowering deserving students to achieve their educational and career goals.

Thank you for partnering with us to uphold Los Rios’ tradition of rewriting futures through education and workforce development. Together, we’re lifting families out of poverty who live and work in our region for generations, and enhancing our region’s vitality.