A group of car enthusiasts in the Marion County area showed their support for students at Fairmont State University recently with a $1,000 gift to Every Gift Matters – The Scholarship Campaign.

The Muscle Car Mafia has evolved in its 25 years to be a community-minded group committed to supporting worthy causes. Each year, the organization holds fundraising and promotional events and chooses one local charity or cause to support. Over the past five years, they have donated more than $15,000 to local charities.

When asked why they chose to support scholarships this year, the members said the choice was easy.  

“The available match from the Fairmont State Foundation allowed us to have double the impact with our gift,” replied Nick Fantasia. As part of the scholarship campaign, the Fairmont State Foundation agreed to match donations dollar for dollar up to a total of $250,000.

As Fairmont State alumni, the group members feel the common thread between all Falcons is the high-quality education they received and the doors that have opened for them as a result.

Group member David Lester said of his education at Fairmont State, “It allowed me to assume the position of Corporate Director of Training with Applied Industrial Technologies which is a 2.9 billion-dollar company and that was absolutely a dream.” 

The goal of the Every Gift Matters campaign is to fill the scholarship gap that currently exists. Many scholarships only provide support for two years of education.  

In order to help Fairmont State University students achieve a degree, we must be able to provide four year scholarships.

This gift was made through the Fairmont State Foundation, the nonprofit organization that receives and administers private donations on behalf of Fairmont State University.