ORLANDO – MAN UP Mentoring, Inc. (MAN UP) is proud to announce we have been granted one of PepsiCo Foundation’s 2024 Community Impact Awards. The PepsiCo Foundation is the philanthropic arm of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP), one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies. The program is a part of the company’s efforts to support local communities by providing resources for valuable programming, such as furthering MAN UP’s new CEO Program. A workforce development initiative that exposes at-risk youth to various career paths, literacy tutoring, financial literacy, post-secondary planning and youth entrepreneurship, while also serving as a deterrent to youth violence and criminal activity.
During the program’s first year:
- 63% of the organization’s mentees successfully completed the pilot program;
- On average, student participants improved their reading by one-half of a grade level;
- Participants demonstrated measurable progress in financial literacy knowledge, 21st-century career-readiness, and entrepreneurial skills, and
- Participants attended an entrepreneurship forum hosted by The Gathering Spot Atlanta where they met with 12 successful African American entrepreneurs from various industries during a 2-day weekend.
MAN UP is one of 100 public charities and organizations across the United States and Canada to receive a $7,500 Community Impact Award for their hard work and commitment to the communities they serve. Through strategic partnerships, such as the Community Impact Awards the PepsiCo Foundation aspires to provide lasting change by tackling the challenges of inequality whether it be through access to economic opportunity, clean water, or food security.
“Creating diverse experiential learning opportunities like this is critical to the success of our mentees, it’s a lifeline,” says the sibling-duo, Chris and Samantha Wallace, founders of the community-based organization. “We thank the PepsiCo Foundation for investing in our young people and helping local communities like ours thrive.”
“At the PepsiCo Foundation, we believe that the strength of our communities lies in the hands of local leaders and nonprofit organizations who understand the unique local social challenges and opportunities of their community. The PepsiCo Foundation Community Impact Awards allow us to celebrate these trailblazers who are driving meaningful change in our communities across North America,” PepsiCo Foundation President and Global Head of Social Impact at PepsiCo, C.D. Glin said. “We invited PepsiCo employees to nominate local organizations of their choice and our employee’s most admired nonprofits were selected as Community Impact Award recipients. We are honored to work alongside these inspiring organizations to amplify their efforts to create lasting positive social impacts across North America.”
The Foundation’s dedication to partnering with local nonprofits stems from its understanding that these organizations are deeply rooted in the communities where PepsiCo employees live and work. By collaborating with local partners, the Foundation can more effectively address community-specific needs and leverage the unique strengths of each organization to foster local, leading and lasting solutions.
