Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company, through its charitable giving arm The Dowd Foundation, has awarded Central Piedmont Community College a $1-million grant to support plumbing and pipefitting scholarships and instruction at the college.

Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company, founded in 1901, has a deep and ongoing interest in strengthening Charlotte’s construction and infrastructure sectors. Charlotte Pipe, the nation’s leading manufacturer of cast iron and plastic pipe and fittings for plumbing applications, has been working for more than a century to ensure the plumbing and pipefitting trades remain viable career paths for future generations.

“Charlotte Pipe and Foundry and The Dowd Foundation are proud to support the plumbing and pipefitting trades,” said Hooper Hardison, president of Charlotte Pipe and Foundry. “We know how essential these career paths can be for young people, as well as for our nation’s infrastructure. We are delighted we have resources like Central Piedmont in our region to provide an education pipeline for the construction trades.”

Central Piedmont will allocate Charlotte Pipe’s gift in the following ways to recognize the company’s important role in the region’s plumbing and pipefitting sectors: 

• Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company Scholarship Fund ($500,000)—This is a permanently endowed scholarship fund that will provide support for financially needy students enrolled in Central Piedmont plumbing and pipefitting courses.
   
• Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company Instructional Fund ($500,000)—This fund will support instruction in plumbing and pipefitting at Central Piedmont, providing the resources needed to purchase equipment and materials, invest in faculty development and address instructional capacity.

“We are so grateful to Charlotte Pipe and The Dowd Foundation for this generous and impactful grant,” said Dr. Kandi Deitemeyer, Central Piedmont president. “The Charlotte region needs many more skilled tradespersons, such as plumbers and pipefitters. These are stable, sustainable, and well-paying careers. This grant will help the college recruit and educate more individuals, setting them on a path to career success and economic mobility.”

Learn more about Central Piedmont’s construction management technology program.