MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Step Up For Students announced today that Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida has contributed $10 million to fund scholarships for underprivileged students in Florida. This contribution will provide more than 2,400 scholarships for families to use towards tuition at the school that best meets their children’s unique learning needs. Florida State Representatives Garcia, Watson, Logan, Julien, Campbell and staff from Representative Diaz and Senator Flores office joined Wayne E. Chaplin, President & COO and Harvey R. Chaplin, Chairman and CEO, Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. for the presentation.
Southern Wine & Spirits’ contribution comes in the form of a tax redirection. Through the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, which was created by the Florida legislature in 2001, corporations are able to redirect up to 90 percent of their Florida alcoholic beverage excise tax, among other types of tax, to the Step Up For Students Scholarship Program. During the 2010-11 school year, Step Up For Students scholarships enabled nearly 35,000 students in Florida to attend the schools best suited for their learning needs.
“Since our founding in 1968, Southern’s philosophy and culture are that people are our most valuable asset. In our enthusiastic and continuing support of this great statewide program, we hope to contribute to the education and future professional success of eligible children across the State of Florida,” said Wayne E. Chaplin. He added, “We are proud to be a part of this program as it demonstrates what can be accomplished when worthy initiatives are combined with and supported by government and business alike.”
2011 marks the second year that Southern Wine & Spirits has participated. “We are grateful for corporate partners like Southern who join us in supporting equal educational opportunities for all of Florida’s children,” said Step Up For Students president Doug Tuthill. “Southern Wine & Spirits’ total contribution of $15 million since they joined the program is tremendous. On behalf of the 3,581 students who have benefited from their support, I say thank you.”
Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida and its parent company, Southern Wine & Spirits of America, has a long record of charitable support of important educational, community-based and medical research projects and programs in Florida and across the country.
About Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc.
Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. is the nation’s largest wine and spirits distributor and broker with operations in 35 markets. The multi-state distributor currently operates in: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia — as well as the additional seven states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Utah through the Southern-Odom/Spirits West partnership. In addition, Southern has a presence in Maryland and the District of Columbia through a joint venture with F.P. Winner Wine & Spirits as well as a joint venture operation in Minnesota with J.J. Taylor Distributing Company. Southern also holds operating licenses and permits in Nebraska and Texas. On a national basis, Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. employs more than 11,000 team members. For more information, see: http://www.southernwine.com.
About Step Up For Students
Step Up For Students is an innovative initiative that allows companies with certain types of Florida tax liabilities to redirect a portion of those taxes to a state approved Scholarship Funding Organization (SFO) that provides K-12 education scholarships for low-income children. Qualifying parents can use these scholarships to send their child to the public or private school that best meets their child's needs. For more information or to learn how your corporation can participate in the program, visit www.StepUpForStudents.org.
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