The PepsiCo Foundation has awarded twenty-two Smiles in Action Award grants to organizations around the country this month. Ohio-based organizations were selected for two of the grants.
First, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cincinnati was awarded $5,000 by the team at PBNA Cincinnati on Thursday, February 16. The check was presented to Chief Development Officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cincinnati John Heater. The grant will help with after-school programming and counseling for school-age children and young adults in the community. The funds will also be used to aid in career readiness programs for high school-aged students.
The second award featured the Pepsi Toledo team. They presented a PepsiCo Foundation Smiles in Action grant of $5,000 to Connecting Kids to Meals Executive Director Wendi Huntley. The grant will provide 10,000 meals to hungry children in need. The community-based program provides 2,000 meals a day. Working alongside the thirteen Pepsi volunteers to pack 1,525 meals was Toledo City Councilman John Hobbs who represents Council District 1 where the Pepsi facility is located.