The PepsiCo Foundation Contributes $50,000 to the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) Scholarships and Internships Program

USA - English

• Latin America - español

PURCHASE, N.Y., Aug. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The PepsiCo Foundation, the philanthropic arm of PepsiCo, has committed $50,000 to the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) for scholarships and internships to deserving students interested in pursuing careers in journalism and social media. The announcement will be made during the PepsiCo-sponsored NAHJ Hall of Fame Gala to be held on Friday, August 3, at the UNITY 2012 Convention in Las Vegas, the largest gathering of minority journalists in the nation.

For the second consecutive year, the PepsiCo Foundation is supporting NAHJ's scholarship and internship program for the as part of La Promesa de PepsiCo, the company's Hispanic initiative focused on fostering education opportunities and helping build stronger Latino communities.

"At PepsiCo, we recognize that nurturing Latino talent through education, leadership, and employment opportunities is necessary to create a better future," said Pamela Culpepper, Senior Vice President, Global Diversity and Inclusion Officer, PepsiCo. "We are proud to contribute to NAHJ's efforts to provide Latinos with the education and training necessary to influence the future of journalism."

The foundation's 2013 contribution to NAHJ will award ten $2,500 scholarships to Latino students pursuing careers in print, broadcast, and online journalism in English or Spanish language media. The funds will also provide five journalism internships at media outlets across the country for Hispanic students to gain experience in covering specialized topics, such as health or education, that are of significant importance to the Latino community. NAHJ will announce the 2012 scholarship and internship recipients later this month, and next year's application process will begin in January 2013. For more information and to apply for NAHJ scholarships and internships, visit: http://nahj.org/scholarships/.

"We applaud PepsiCo's focus on education and appreciate its ongoing support for our organization," said Michele Salcedo, NAHJ President. "Their continued generosity toward NAHJ makes it possible to prepare our talented young members to enter the highly competitive field of journalism, ensuring fair representation of Latinos in newsrooms and accurate and fair coverage of our community."

As part of La Promesa de PepsiCo, the company has built strategic partnerships with national Hispanic organizations including CHCI (Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute), HACR (Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility), LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens), NAHJ (National Association of Hispanic Journalists), and NCLR (National Council of La Raza), among others, and is engaging with the Hispanic community through the bilingual Twitter handle @PromesaPepsiCo.

PepsiCo's global vision of Performance with Purpose is a promise to deliver sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for consumers, the planet, its associates and external partners in the communities it serves. La Promesa de PepsiCo focuses specifically on Latino empowerment and the issues that matter most to Hispanics including Latino education, employment opportunities, promoting active lifestyles, and investing in science to develop healthier products.

About PepsiCo
PepsiCo is a global food and beverage leader with net revenues of more than $65 billion and a product portfolio that includes 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales. Our main businesses – Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola – make hundreds of enjoyable foods and beverages that are loved throughout the world. PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet, which we believe, also means a more successful future for PepsiCo. We call this commitment Performance with Purpose: PepsiCo's promise to provide a wide range of foods and beverages for local tastes; to find innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment by conserving energy and water and reducing packaging volume; to provide a great workplace for our associates; and to respect, support and invest in the local communities where we operate. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.  

About the PepsiCo Foundation
Established in 1962, the PepsiCo Foundation is the philanthropic anchor of PepsiCo, responsible for providing charitable contributions to eligible non-profit organizations. The Foundation is committed to developing sustainable partnerships and programs in underserved regions that provide opportunities for improved health, environment and education. For more information, visit:  http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/PepsiCo-Foundation.aspx.

About NAHJ
Founded in 1984, NAHJ's mission is to increase the percentage of Latinos working in our nation's newsrooms and to improve news coverage of the Latino community. NAHJ is the nation's largest professional organization for Latino journalists with more than 1,400 members working in English and Spanish-language print, photo, broadcast and online media. NAHJ is a 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization. For more information, visit www.nahj.org.

SOURCE PepsiCo Foundation