Lead2Feed: Leadership and Service Learning Align in Nation's Leading and Fastest Growing Free Student Leadership Program

MCLEAN, Va., Sept. 24, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Effective. Tested. Life-changing. Today marks the beginning of the fourth annual Lead2Feed Challenge. With an expected participation of more than one million middle and high school students from 3,500 schools and clubs across all 50 states, this hands-on free service learning program brings classrooms to life by challenging students to work together and recognize the need to alleviate hunger and other community needs.  The Lead2Feed Student Leadership Program was created by the Foundation for Impact on Literacy and Learning and the Lift a Life Foundation, with assistance from the Yum! Foundation.

Inspired by Executive Chairman of Yum! Brands and leadership expert, David Novak, the Lead2Feed student leadership program is helping to fill a gap in middle and high school education. Throughout this program, students engage with leadership lessons adapted from David Novak's book, Taking People With You: The Only Way To Make BIG Things Happen, while working through a comprehensive leadership curriculum aligned to standards and 21st century skills including lessons on project management, teamwork and more.  Students are then given the opportunity outside of the classroom to put their leadership skills into action while competing in the Lead2Feed Challenge.

Teachers/Advisors can register their student teams for the Lead2Feed Student Leadership Program and enter the Lead2Feed Challenge online at www.lead2feed.org. By working through the Lead2Feed lessons, students will select a hunger or other community needs project, partner with a non-profit 501c3 and compete for a chance to win over $275,000 in charity grants and $170,000 in technology grants for schools and clubs. Since the program's launch in 2012, student members have volunteered more than 22,000 hours, donated 75,000 pounds of food and served over one million meals in their local communities.  New this year, the Lead2Feed Challenge is accepting projects addressing any community need!

"Every year, the Lead2Feed Student Leadership Program continues to inspire me as I see students develop into the next generation of leaders," said David Novak, Executive Chairman of Yum! Brands. "Through Lead2Feed, these students are empowering themselves to act, serve and make big things happen for not only themselves but also their community. I'm proud to be part of this transformative program and I look forward to seeing its growing future."

"With some states and school districts beginning to require service learning or community service hours throughout different stages of education, we have seen more schools adopt the Lead2Feed program," said Diane Barrett, Executive Director of the Foundation for Impact on Literacy and Learning, Inc. "This program has experienced record-breaking growth over the past three years and we are excited to shape the leaders of tomorrow to feed the needs in their community."

To watch the action, get involved, and learn more, follow Lead2Feed:

• Web: http://www.lead2feed.org
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Lead2Feed
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeadtoFeed  
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/leadtofeed
• Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/leadtofeed/

Complete rules and details on the Lead2Feed Challenge, including Early Entry Drawings, are available at: http://www.lead2feed.org/how-to-participate/project-submission-rules/

About Lead2Feed
The Lead2Feed Student Leadership Program was created by the Foundation for Impact on Literacy and Learning and the Lift a Life Foundation, with assistance from the Yum! Foundation, to encourage middle and high school students to hone leadership skills by completing a service-learning project that solves hunger or other community needs involving a public non-profit (501c3).

About Foundation for Impact on Literacy and Learning 
The Foundation for Impact on Literacy and Learning, a 501(c)(3) organization, supports and builds alliances that enhance innovative, instructional programs and community outreach by providing the resources to promote new opportunities and participation. The foundation welcomes participation in efforts to engage, enlighten and inspire today's students and educators by opening their classrooms to the real world. The Foundation seeks funding from other foundations, private companies and organizations to help provide educational programs for elementary, secondary schools, community colleges and/or programs in specific disciplines or curriculum areas. The Foundation works with interested parties to collaborate on the creation of an educational program that meets the mission and goals for respective companies or organizations.

About Lift a Life Foundation 
The Lift a Life Foundation was established in 1999 by David and Wendy Novak. The mission of the Lift a Life Foundation is to lead the way with innovative programs that help people in need and develop future leaders. The Foundation focuses on creative partnerships that make a lasting impact in the primary areas of hunger relief, early childhood education, juvenile diabetes, military family support and leadership development. Since Lift a Life Foundation began, it has helped thousands of people in need through grants and programming support. David Novak is Executive Chairman of Yum! Brands, one of the world's largest restaurant companies with over 41,000 KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurants in more than 125 countries and territories, and author of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling book, TAKING PEOPLE WITH YOU: The Only Way to Make BIG Things Happen. He has been recognized as "2012 CEO of the Year" by Chief Executive magazine, one of the world's "30 Best CEOs" by Barron's, one of the "Top People in Business" by FORTUNE and one of the "100 Best-Performing CEOs in the World" by Harvard Business Review. In the spring, he will receive the prestigious 2015 Horatio Alger Award for his commitment to philanthropy and higher education and become a lifetime member of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans. He is the recipient of the 2012 UN World Food Program Leadership Award for Yum! Brands World Hunger Relief effort that raises awareness, volunteerism and funds to address this global problem. He also received the national 2008 Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship. He is on the board of directors of the Yum! Brands Foundation and World Food Program USA. Wendy Novak is a lifelong philanthropist and volunteer. She served on the board of Directors for the Kentucky Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

About Yum! Brands, Inc.
Yum! Brands, Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, has over 40,000 restaurants in more than 125 countries and territories. Yum! is ranked #216 on the Fortune 500 List with revenues of over $13 billion and in 2014 was named among the top 100 Corporate Citizens by Corporate Responsibility Magazine. The Company's restaurant brands - KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell - are the global leaders of the chicken, pizza and Mexican-style food categories. Outside the United States, the Yum! Brands system opened over five new restaurants per day, making it a leader in international retail development.

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SOURCE Lead2Feed

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