Mike Peterson
Apple CEO Tim Cook has donated $100,000 to help fund the purchase of new instruments for the band at the Alabama high school he attended.
The gift, which went to the Robertsdale High School band, was used by the Baldwin county public School system to purchase 28 new instruments for students. The new instruments included flutes, horns, and tubas, Alabama news outlet Al.com has reported.
"These instruments will enhance the entire band and provide instruments to students this year and for many years to come. The Robertsdale band continues to grow every year and with that the needs of the group," said Chastity Reddick.
Cook, who graduated from Robertsdale High School in 1978, has a special connection to the band program at the school since he played trombone during his years there.
The Baldwin County School District is still fundraising for a remaining $40,000 to help the program, but school officials say they are grateful for the gift.
"We are speechless. Due to our growth, we found ourselves in a situation where we didn't have enough instruments for this coming fall. We would have had more students than instruments, and needed $140,000 to make this happen," said band director LT Hughes in a Facebook post Wednesday.
This is not the first time that Cook has supported students at his alma mater. Back in 2021, the Apple chief executive started a scholarship program to provide monetary aid to students exhibiting characteristics such as "grit, creativity, curiosity, academics, [and] leadership."
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4 Comments
As a former HS band member, all I can say, is, good on him. While as a trumpet player most of us owned or rented our own instruments, some instruments are way too expensive for most HS kids and their families, and some families may not have the means for even the "standard", less expensive flutes or clarinets or trumpets.
Bravo, Tim!
It’s good to see the word donation used in the proper context. And not pledged like some dumbass person might.