DALLAS, Oct. 31, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- PepsiCo's Frito-Lay North America today announced a $1 million grant from The PepsiCo Foundation to support the expansion of its Southern Dallas Thrives initiative. The additional funding brings the company's total commitment to Southern Dallas to more than $3 million. Frito-Lay is the founding partner of Southern Dallas Thrives, an initiative created alongside United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and The PepsiCo Foundation.

Today in North Texas, kids who aren't kindergarten ready are four times more likely to drop out of high school; eight out of 10 eligible kids don't receive summer meals, and there are more than 42,000 open mid-level jobs available to Dallas-Ft. Worth residents.  

Launched in October 2018, Southern Dallas Thrives aims to address these needs by improving the quality of preschool education in Southern Dallas communities, providing families with nutritious meals and preparing high school students with the career and college preparation they need to succeed – all while giving unemployed or underemployed parents access to childcare and job skills training they need to enter and excel in the workforce.

In its first year, the Southern Dallas Thrives initiative committed $600,000 to early childhood education through a grant from The PepsiCo Foundation to United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and 1,000,000 meals provided by 2022 through PepsiCo's Food for Good program. In addition, Frito-Lay employees dedicated over 3,000 volunteer hours in Southern Dallas agencies and schools.

"As we continue to support our neighbors in Southern Dallas, my greatest hope is that the community feels they have the resources they need to thrive – from childhood to entering the workforce," said Steven Williams, chief executive officer, PepsiCo Foods North America. "While our work is not done, I'm proud of the progress we've made against our long-term goals to create meaningful improvements in Southern Dallas."

Pathways by PepsiCo Grant Supports First-of-its-Kind Dallas Center for Arts and Technology
The $1 million Pathways by PepsiCo grant will focus on workforce readiness and development programming for women in Southern Dallas. In partnership with United Way of Metropolitan Dallas and Frito-Lay, The PepsiCo Foundation committed funding to Social Venture Partners Dallas to invest in a first-of-its-kind program for Texas, the Dallas Center for Arts and Technology (DCAT), and establishes Frito-Lay as a founding partner in the program.

With Frito-Lay as a founding partner in the program, DCAT is expected to open in a permanent location in spring 2021 and the location will bring a new resource to Southern Dallas providing:

• Free childcare for children up to five years of age
• Immersing youth in the arts during after-school programming
• Providing in-demand workforce training to adults, and more

While the permanent location is being secured and future renovations completed, DCAT will start pilot programming and workforce training at the headquarters of For Oak Cliff in Southern Dallas starting in spring 2020.

"The support of a partner like Frito-Lay is essential to the growth and development of DCAT," said Tony Fleo, chief executive officer, Social Venture Partners Dallas. "We are grateful for their contribution, which will enable a vital workforce development pipeline for adults, immersive after-school arts for high school youth and early-childhood education. We hope this multi-faceted resource will be supported by a coalition of corporate funders as it begins serving the community."

Strengthening Resources for South Oak Cliff High School
In addition to its commitment to DCAT, Frito-Lay will sponsor the development of a resource center at the newly renovated South Oak Cliff High School, opening in January 2020. Frito-Lay's support will provide needed resources such as computers, food and other essential items to ensure student success.

South Oak Cliff High School remains a top priority for Southern Dallas Thrives as nine out of 10 of its students are economically disadvantaged. One of the initiative's primary goals is to help 85 percent of South Oak Cliff Collegiate Academy students graduate prepared for college or become career-ready through tutoring, mentoring and community engagement efforts at South Oak Cliff High School. 

"Nearly one in three adults and nearly four in 10 children live in poverty in Southern Dallas," said Jennifer Sampson, McDermott-Templeton president, chief executive officer, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas. "In addition, the unemployment rate is more than triple that of the Dallas-Ft. Worth average, and less than three out of 10 students graduating from high school are prepared for success in college and/or a career. Together, with Frito-Lay, we are working toward putting opportunity in the hands of all North Texans, including our friends and neighbors in Southern Dallas." 

On Oct. 24, Frito-Lay also celebrated the 10th anniversary of PepsiCo's United Way Day of Caring. More than 1,500 PepsiCo and Frito-Lay associates completed a day-long volunteer effort at various United Way agencies – including nearly 20 supporting Southern Dallas Thrives – to total more than 7,500 volunteer hours.

PepsiCo and Frito-Lay are continuously encouraging the broader Dallas-Fort Worth community to help make a lasting change in Southern Dallas. For more information, visit: SouthernDallasThrives.com.

To learn more about Social Venture Partners Dallas and DCAT visit http://www.socialventurepartners.org/dallas/.

About Frito-Lay North America
Frito-Lay North America is the $16 billion convenient foods division of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate website, http://www.fritolay.com/ and on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/fritolay.

About The PepsiCo Foundation
Established in 1962, The PepsiCo Foundation works with nonprofit partners and invests in the essential elements of a sustainable food system – helping alleviate hunger, manage water and waste responsibly, and support women as champions of nutrition from farm to family. For more information, visit https://www.pepsico.com/sustainability/philanthropy.

About United Way of Metropolitan Dallas:
United Way of Metropolitan Dallas is a community-based social change organization that puts opportunity in the hands of all North Texans. Working with our determined supporters, we lead the charge to improve education, income and health—the building blocks of opportunity. We invite all change-seekers in our community to Live United to achieve lasting results right here at home. To give, advocate or volunteer, visit www.UnitedWayDallas.org.

SOURCE Frito-Lay North America