By Lindsay Walker
Twitter: @AzNewsmedia

PepsiCo and its Pepsi-Co Foundation, announced a two-year $500,000 grant award to the Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation to provide scholarship opportunities for Black and Hispanic students across the U.S.

The Maricopa County Community Colleges District is one of just 13 community college systems in the country to be included in the growing philanthropic program, according to a news release.

“This grant specifically aims to help reduce barriers that so many of our MCCCD students face in completing their higher education aspirations,” said Brian F. Spicker, MCCF President and CEO, in a prepared statement. “In addition to scholarships, the PepsiCo Foundation Uplift Scholarship Program helps to close the wealth gap by providing access to higher education that will enable our students to acquire jobs in high growth career paths.”

The PepsiCo Foundation Uplift Scholarship program focuses on Black and Hispanic students enrolled in associates degrees or professional certificate programs relating to careers within the food systems industries, including marketing and sales, advanced manufacturing, logistics, information technology, cybersecurity, and others.

Approximately 1,400 scholarship recipients nationwide will receive financial assistance to remove historical barriers to enrollment and graduation by the end of 2022. Scholars receive money for tuition assistance, living expenses such as childcare and transportation, plus exclusive enrichment opportunities including Pepsi-Co career exploration, facility tours, job shadowing, and access to career preparation tools such as virtual workshops, resume writing, interview skills, and more.

The grant will be critical for the economic recovery of low-income Black and Hispanic students, which make up the leading demographic for college dropouts amid the ongoing pandemic.

“Black and Hispanic students are facing an unprecedented educational crisis as enrollment rates continue to decline and dropout rates increase, often because of financial needs outside of tuition. Students need more than scholarships — they need support to stay in school, finish their degrees and access the job market,” said C.D. Glin, the Global Head of Philanthropy for PepsiCo & Vice President of The PepsiCo Foundation. “We launched this program to help students address the most critical barriers to their education and economic success, and we’re proud to announce today that we’re bringing more students in and helping them on their academic journey.”

The scholarship program aims to provide a way up for students looking to further their careers.