PURCHASE, N.Y., July 1 /PRNewswire/ --  The Pepsi Refresh Project, a more than $20 million initiative designed by Pepsi to fund good ideas, big and small, that help refresh our world, is pledging $1.3 million to fund ideas to support communities in the Gulf States.  The Pepsi Refresh Project: Do Good for the Gulf will empower Americans to make a positive impact on communities that have been most directly affected by the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  The Pepsi Refresh Project is currently awarding $1.3 million in grant funds every month this year and is doubling its efforts in August to support ideas that will help Gulf communities.

A special category in this campaign has been created solely for ideas that help refresh Gulf states at www.refresheverything.com. Submissions for Gulf ideas will open on Monday, July 12 at noon ET and close on Friday, July 16 at 11:59 a.m. or when Pepsi receives 1,000 submissions, whichever occurs first. Public voting will start on Monday, August 2, and grant recipients will be announced on Thursday, September 2. Pepsi will award grants in increments of $5,000, $25,000, $50,000 and $250,000 to ideas that receive the greatest number of votes.

"We were inspired by the quality of submissions we have received to date from people around the country to refresh their communities and by the incredible resilience of Gulf residents to introduce a category dedicated to refreshing communities in the Gulf states in the wake of the recent oil spill," said Jill Beraud, chief marketing officer, Pepsi Beverages America. "What the Pepsi Refresh Project has taught us over the past six months is that American ingenuity is alive and well, so we know there are great ideas out there that will bring hope and opportunity back to families and communities who need it most."

Since its launch in January of this year, The Pepsi Refresh Project has awarded more than $7 million to help turn good ideas from wishful thinking into reality.  In 2010, Pepsi has committed to giving away more than $20 million in the U.S.  Grants have been awarded to fund community improvement ideas across six categories: health, arts and culture, food and shelter, the planet, neighborhoods and education. To date, several initiatives have been funded in the Gulf, including Homes of Hope for Children in Hattiesburg, MS, recipient of a $250,000 grant to construct a facility to house foster children from across the state; and the P.O.T.S. (Peace on the Streets) Project, which received a $50,000 grant to fund anti-violence programs for at-risk youth in New Orleans, LA.

Advisory Board

Pepsi has enlisted the expertise of local leaders in the Gulf to offer insight on how to work with impacted communities. These experts lead visionary projects in the region to preserve the cultural, environmental and economic infrastructure of the Gulf.

Tim Williamson, The Idea Village: Tim is co-founder and CEO of The Idea Village, a non-profit organization with a mission to identify, support and retain entrepreneurial talent in New Orleans by providing business resources to high-impact ventures. As of April 2010, The Idea Village has engaged over 880 people to support over 580 local entrepreneurial ventures, representing 975 jobs and over $87 million in revenue. Students, professionals and collaborative partners have contributed over 56,000 hours towards business consulting and resource development and allocated over $1.5 million in grants directly to businesses. Tim has founded four entrepreneurial ventures in the last 15 years and serves on the State of Louisiana Small Business and Entrepreneurship Commission.

Elizabeth Teel Galante, Global Green: Beth Galante is responsible for the operation of Global Green's New Orleans Resource Center & Office, where she oversees diverse rebuilding projects such as the Holy Cross Project, a sustainable village in the Lower 9th Ward with 23 units of affordable housing and a community/climate action center. Founded in 1994, Global Green is the American Arm of Green Cross International (GCI), which was created by President Mikhail S. Gorbachev to foster a global value shift toward a sustainable and secure future by reconnecting humanity with the environment. Beth has a Masters of Environmental & Energy Law and J.D. from Tulane Law School.  She is currently an Aspen Institute Fellow in its Henry Crown leadership program.

Submission Criteria

• Ideas may be submitted from all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia but must have a clear community benefit for communities in the Gulf region (states that are on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida)
• Ideas must be executable within 12 months
• Ideas must intend to make a positive impact on communities affected by recent events in the Gulf
• Pepsi Refresh Project Gulf initiative will not support ideas directly related to clean-up efforts and environmental impact
• Ideas shall not pertain to seek financial reparation from the environmental tragedy or propose engineering or clean-up solutions
• Previous Gulf-focused Pepsi Refresh Project submissions may be re-submitted if they meet above stated criteria

Pepsi Refresh Project

In an effort to support those who generate innovative, optimistic ideas, the Pepsi Refresh Project (http://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 starting January 13, and site visitors can vote for the best ideas for funding starting February 1. 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.

Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages

The Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages (PCNAB) portfolio features market-leading liquid refreshment beverages, including the Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist and Mug trademarks in the carbonated soft drink category and the Aquafina and SoBe trademarks in the non-carbonated arena. PCNAB also produces and markets North America's best-selling ready-to-drink iced teas and coffees, respectively, via joint ventures with Lipton and Starbucks. Please visit www.pepsiproductfacts.com for additional information. PCNAB is a division of PepsiCo, which offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 18 different product lines that each generate 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 over 200 countries. With more than $43 billion in 2008 revenues, PepsiCo employs 198,000 people who 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. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

SOURCE PepsiCo

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