MULTI-PLATINUM AWARD-WINNING COUNTRY SUPERSTAR CLAY WALKER TO HEADLINE STEPPING OUT FOR COD 2024
Celebrate the COD Foundation’s 40th Anniversary and Support the Fund for Student Success!
Palm Desert, CA – February 7, 2024 – The College of the Desert (COD) Foundation is excited to announce that multi-
platinum-selling country superstar Clay Walker will headline the COD Foundation’s most important fundraiser of the year on Thursday, April 4, 2024. Presented by The Greene Family Foundation & James and Jessica Greene, Stepping Out for COD 2024 will celebrate the COD Foundation’s 40th Anniversary and benefit its Fund for Student Success.
Clay Walker has garnered 11 No.1 songs, 32 charted singles, 4 RIAA PLATINUM albums, and 2 Certified GOLD albums. He received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Country Vocal Performance for his single “What’s It to You.” He was nominated for 4 Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards for Top New Male Vocalist, Album of the Year, Single Record of the Year, and Song of the Year. He is widely recognized as a country music staple with songs like “If I Could Make A Living,” “This Woman And This Man,” “Live Until I Die,” and “She Won’t Be Lonely Long.”
“We are excited that Clay Walker will headline COD Foundation’s most impactful fundraiser of the year. College of the Desert is a treasured and essential asset to our Coachella Valley,” shared Stepping Out co-chairs Norma Casteneda and Jenell VanDenBos. “The support of our sponsors, donors, and community initiates a profound ripple effect, empowering students who are struggling with paying tuition, while also managing the high cost of housing, transportation, childcare, and food insecurity. Many students are just one check engine light away from abandoning their educational goals. Your generous gifts have a resounding impact, strengthening the infrastructure of our local economy and making a significant difference between a student dropping out or receiving a diploma.”
For 40 years, the COD Foundation has raised over $113 million to support student enrichment programs and services. Today, nearly two-thirds of COD students qualify for some form of financial assistance, but traditional scholarship support rarely extends to cover all core essentials students need to succeed. The COD Foundation’s Fund for Student
Success helps to fill in the remaining gaps by assisting students with additional financial support for necessities like books, supplies, childcare, and more.
COD Foundation Board Chair Diane Rubin explains, “When we provide comprehensive access to education and support significant financial barriers to learning, we are not only transforming individual lives but producing a professional workforce to strengthen our Valley’s social and economic infrastructure. We believe that no student should miss out on a class or find they are unable to complete an assignment due to a lack of books, technology, or transportation.”
For more than 60 years, COD has made it possible for local students to pursue their academic dreams. In turn, these students become skilled nurses, firefighters, EMTs, chefs, hoteliers, architects, entrepreneurs, and business leaders of 125,000 alumni strong, who give back to our community, as well as generating over $400 million annually to our local economy.
Stepping Out for COD 2024 will be held on Thursday, April 4, 2024, at 8pm at The Show at Agua Caliente Rancho Mirage. Stepping Out for COD 2024 is presented by The Greene Family Foundation & Jim and Jessica Greene with special thanks to Platinum Sponsors: Eisenhower Foundation, Diane Rubin and Lenny Eber, Jordan Schnitzer and the Harold and Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation and media sponsors: News Channel 3 – The Desert’s News Leader. Sponsorship
opportunities are now available and individual tickets are on sale now. To sponsor visit CODFoundation.org or call (760) 773-2561.
Media Contact: Erin Scott | (760) 954-2493
Erin@thecompetitiveadvantage.com
About COD Foundation:
The College of the Desert Foundation is a 501(C)3 registered nonprofit organization. The mission of the COD Foundation is to act as advocates for the college and to secure financial support enhancing the educational opportunities for all students.
