The Pepsi Refresh Project Announces 32 New Top Vote-Getters to Receive a Total of $1.3 Million to Refresh the World

PURCHASE, N.Y., May 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Thirty-two ideas, from rebuilding an elementary school to providing care packages to new families, are on track to be collectively awarded $1.3 million this month, for garnering the most votes in April for the Pepsi Refresh Project. Through this ground-breaking initiative, Pepsi will award more than $20 million in 2010 to the ideas voted most likely to move our communities forward by the public via online voting.

"National Teacher's Day is May 4, and we are pleased to have so many ideas inspired by educators or even submitted by teachers themselves," said Pepsi Refresh Project Education Ambassador Liz Dwyer. Refresh Ambassadors are building awareness and driving participation in the program as well as supporting funded Ideas.

The top vote-getters in six categories (Health, Arts & Culture, Food & Shelter, The Planet, Neighborhoods and Education) caught the public's attention by making a compelling case for why they deserved a Pepsi Refresh Grant.  

The Pepsi Refresh Project launched in January and invited individuals and organizations to submit beneficial, achievable, constructive and "shovel-ready" ideas that would make a positive impact on communities. Each month, ideas are voted on by the public to select the 32 grant recipients to receive funding. Americans voted for over 1,000 ideas from April 1 through April 30 at www.refresheverything.com.   With the April ideas' votes tallied, Pepsi is working with partners at Global Giving and GOOD to ensure that each idea qualifies to receive funding. Once approved, each idea will have the opportunity to be put into action.

Ideas on track to receive funding this month include those that benefit communities, including Project Sweet Peas, designed to provide care packages to new families with infants in intensive care.

"The stress of having a child in intensive care is unimaginable to most people," said Mallika Chopra, Pepsi Refresh Project Health Ambassador. "Something as small as a gift bag with every day items will help make tough times a little easier for these parents."

This month, in total, the Pepsi Refresh Project is set to award two $250,000, ten $50,000, ten $25,000 and ten $5,000 grants.  The top vote-getters on track to become Pepsi Refresh Grant recipients from the April round of voting include:

$250,000

• Ben-Gil Elementary Boosters, Benld, IL (Education)
• Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation, Erie, PA (Health)

$50,000

• Anthony DiNicola, Burlington, CT (Neighborhoods)
• Global Language Project, New York, NY (Education)
• Heather Hall – Lone Star School, Bristow, OK (Education)
• Hudson Valley Youth Wind Ensembles, Lake Katrine, NY (Arts & Culture)
• KIDDS Dance Project, Inc., Lithonia, GA (Neighborhoods)
• Kim Wendt – Mitchell Middle School, Racine, WI (Education)
• National AMBUCS, Inc., Danville, IL (Health)
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Jersey City, NJ (Health)
• Rosendale Theatre Collective, High Falls, NY (Arts & Culture)
• Waukee High School Earth Club, Waukee, IA (The Planet)

$25,000

• 100 Mile Club, Norco, CA (Health)
• BigHouse Foundation, Opelika, AL (Education)
• ChangEducate, Durham, NC (Education)
• Fair Haven Center for Women, Inc., Demotte, IN (Food & Shelter)
• imMEDIAte Justice, Los Angeles, CA (Education)
• Project Sweet Peas, Topeka, KS (Health)
• Roy Waldron School, Smyrna, TN (Health)
• Stay Off The Streets, Inc., Ambridge, PA (Neighborhoods)
• Talbert House Community Correctional Center, Lebanon, OH (Education)
• The Hep B Project, Berkeley, CA (Education)

$5,000

• Anita Jones and Meals on Wheels, Norman, OK (Food & Shelter)
• Golightly Educational Center, Brownston, MI (Education)
• Heather Howe at Hartwood Elementary, Fredericksburg, VA (Education)
• Jen Nall, Pawstotherescue, Mullins, SC (Food & Shelter)
• Jennifer Luckart, Easton, CT (Education)
• Mary DeWerff, Peachtree City, GA (Health)
• Pet Mission, Redondo Beach, CA (Neighborhoods)
• Salisbury-Rowan Symphony Orchestra, Salisbury, NC (Arts & Culture)
• Sharon Ponton, Springfield, VA (Health)
• White Bluffs Quilt Museum, West Richland, WA (Neighborhoods)

New Round of Voting Began on May 1

In 2010, the Pepsi Refresh Project will give away more than $20 million to refresh the world, one idea at a time.  Each month, Pepsi will award up to $1.3 million in grants to the ideas with the most votes.  Pepsi will accept up to 1,000 new ideas every month and the public decides who wins. Vote for your favorite ideas now at www.refresheverything.com.

To support the project, Pepsi is partnering with three organizations dedicated to making a positive difference in the world: GOOD, a leading platform for thought and action revolving around pushing the world forward; Global Giving, an online marketplace that connects people who have community and world-changing ideas with people who can support them; and Do Something, the largest non-profit teen charity.

The Pepsi Refresh Project can be found at www.refresheverything.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/refresheverything or on Twitter, @Pepsi or #pepsirefresh.

Pepsi Refresh Project

In an effort to support those who generate innovative, optimistic ideas, the Pepsi Refresh Project (www.refresheverything.com) will award more than $20 million in 2010 to move communities forward.  Individuals can apply for grants to benefit a variety of projects and site visitors can vote for the best ideas for funding.  The Pepsi Refresh Project is an evolution of the Refresh Everything initiative Pepsi launched in 2009, which showed the brand as an optimistic catalyst for idea creation, leading to an ever-refreshing world.   Pepsi will fund projects that make a difference in six categories: Health, Arts & Culture, Food & Shelter, The Planet, Neighborhoods and Education.

About Pepsi

Pepsi is a product of PepsiCo Beverages Americas (PBA).  In addition to the Pepsi trademark, the PBA portfolio includes the Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist and Mug trademarks in the carbonated soft drink category. PBA is a division of PepsiCo, which offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that each generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses - Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in more than 200 countries. With annualized revenues of nearly $60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. In recognition of its continued sustainability efforts, PepsiCo was named for the third time to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and for the fourth time to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI North America) in 2009. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

SOURCE Pepsi