ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Back-to-school is always an exciting time for students across the country. As part of this significant moment, The Coca-Cola Company and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) are coming together with key retailers to announce the launch of Share Possibilities. This annual Hispanic Heritage Month scholarship program will award $200,000 in scholarships to help close the college attainment gap among Latino students.
“It’s an honor to have the opportunity to support the community and provide Hispanic families the means to achieve their educational dreams and aspirations,” said Lauventria Robinson, Vice President of Multicultural Marketing, Coca-Cola North America Group. “This program allows us to bring the community together and share moments of happiness with families across the country.”
With a long-standing relationship of more than 30 years, The Coca-Cola Company’s Share Possibilities program is designed to further support HSF in its goal of providing scholarships to our country’s best and brightest Latino students and supporting them on their path to obtaining a college degree.
“With 69% of Latino high school graduates now going directly to college, it is more important than ever for HSF to provide scholarship support to students and information about college and financial aid to parents,” said Fidel A. Vargas, President and CEO of HSF. “Our long-standing partnership with Coca-Cola continues to flourish and has played a key role in our ability to positively impact students and their families throughout America.”
The Share Possibilities program grants a total of $200,000 in scholarships to college-bound Hispanic students. Nationally, the grand prize winner will receive $20,000; four students will be awarded $10,000 and sixteen will receive $2,500. The remaining $100,000 will be awarded by the company’s retail partners, within their respective communities, across the nation.
From Sept. 1 through Dec. 15, eligible high school seniors may apply for the opportunity to win a scholarship at www.Coke-HSF.com. Applicants who meet the minimum eligibility requirements will be featured in an online gallery with social media sharing capabilities. Students are encouraged to share their profiles and gain community votes. Each eligible participating voter is automatically entered for a chance to win a $500 gift card and can vote up to five times a day.
HSF will select the scholarship recipients based on the Fund’s standard selection criteria for awarding scholarships, factoring in community votes gathered online. Final winners will be announced by May 2014.
The company’s retail partners also play a vital role in the program by funding and awarding the remaining $100,000 in their local communities. Joining in the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, these partners are helping to increase awareness about the importance of education as a means of strengthening communities and providing the brain power needed for a sustainable national economy.
Participating retailers include:
- Atlanta Retailers Association (ARA)
- Family Dollar
- Giant Landover in Baltimore & Washington D.C.
- Greater Houston Restaurant Association (GHRA)
- Meijer, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois
- La Michoacana Meat Markets in Texas
- Stop & Shop New England
- Stop & Shop New York Metro
To learn more about the program, people can visit participating retailers in their area or go to www.Coke-HSF.com and www.hsf.net. Another way to follow the conversation is on Twitter and Facebook using the hashtag #CokeforEducation.
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, our Company's portfolio features 16 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of more than 1.8 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo or check out our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com.
About the Hispanic Scholarship Fund
Founded in 1975, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund provides scholarships to Latino students, as well as related support services. We seek to give them all the tools they need to apply to college, do well in their course work, graduate, enter a profession, excel, help lead our nation going forward, and mentor the generations to come. As the nation’s largest not-for-profit organization supporting Hispanic-American higher education, HSF has awarded over $400 million in scholarships and provides a range of ancillary programs for candidates, scholars, and their families. We further strive to make college education a top priority for every Latino family across the nation and to mobilize our community to proactively advance that goal – each individual, over a lifetime, in every way he/she can. For more information about the Hispanic Scholarship Fund please visit: www.HSF.net.