The Coca-Cola Foundation Surprises Five Atlanta Community Organizations with Unsolicited Grants of $10,000 Each

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Five local Atlanta human service organizations working to help those in need this holiday season were surprised with donations of $10,000 each Thursday during a luncheon at The Coca-Cola Company.

“We provide these special holiday contributions to organizations which are helping to change the lives of those in need in our community”

The Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded unsolicited and unrestricted “surprise” grants to local organizations for the past 18 years as part of its “Donations in Lieu of Decorations Initiative,” an annual tradition that directs funding originally planned for holiday decorations and holiday parties to help local people in need.

“We provide these special holiday contributions to organizations which are helping to change the lives of those in need in our community,” said Ingrid Saunders Jones, chair of The Coca-Cola Foundation. “Since The Coca-Cola Company began this initiative in 1992, we have donated more than $500,000 to more than 45 local community organizations.”

The five organizations selected to receive donations this year are:

* Atlanta Children’s Shelter, which provides child development and support services for homeless families striving to become self-sufficient.
* City of Refuge, which provides individuals and families with food, clothing, shelter, job training and placement, housing, healthcare and education.
* CredAbility, which helps individuals move from financial crisis to financial control through budget, credit counseling and debt management plans.
* Families First, which works to foster strong communities by providing solutions for children and families through child well-being and self-sufficiency services.
* Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless, which works to rescue, restore and stabilize at risk homeless individuals and families to self-sufficiency.
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Sodexo's 'Feeding Our Future®' Program Provides 13,000 Summer Lunches to Atlanta Children

/PRNewswire/ -- Leveraging a $20,000 "Feeding Our Future®" grant from the Sodexo Foundation, the Sodexo account at UPS Headquarters and The Coca-Cola Company celebrated serving 13,000 free lunches to Atlanta's children. Former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young acknowledged volunteers for their efforts during a special barbeque held for city youth yesterday at the Andrew and Walter Young Family YMCA. Sodexo's Feeding Our Future program provides school children who rely on free and reduced-price meals during the academic year with nutritious lunches during the summer break.

"With nearly one in four children living in households that find it increasingly difficult to put food on the table, there are bound to be additional challenges when the school doors close for the summer," said Stephen J. Brady, president of the Sodexo Foundation. "As the leading food service provider to public schools throughout this country, we understand the needs that exist and we are determined to make a positive impact that leads to the elimination of hunger in this country."

Every day, an estimated 17 million U.S. children rely on school breakfast and lunch programs as their only guaranteed meals. When schools shut down for the summer, federal meal programs feed only about three million, leaving 13 million children at risk for hunger. To help bridge this gap, the Sodexo Foundation, the independent charitable organization of Sodexo, Inc., has provided free lunches to children through its summer feeding program, Feeding Our Future, since 1997. The Sodexo Foundation provides grants to local Sodexo accounts to purchase food for the meals and local Sodexo employees prepare the meals each day.

In addition to Atlanta, Feeding Our Future will be providing more than 300,000 summer lunches in 19 other cities in the United States: Boston, Mass., Buffalo, N.Y., Camden, N.J., Chattanooga, Tenn., Chicago, Ill., Denver, Colo., Detroit, Mich., Fort Worth, Texas, Honolulu, Hawaii, Houston, Texas, Los Angeles, Calif., Miami, Fla., New York, N.Y., Oklahoma City, Okla., San Jose, Calif., St. Cloud, Minn., St. Louis, Mo., Terre Haute, Ind. and Washington, D.C.

Feeding Our Future is a program of the Sodexo Foundation, an independent charitable organization supporting hunger-related initiatives that focus on eliminating the root causes of hunger in the U.S. Sodexo pays all administrative costs of the Foundation to ensure that all money raised is directed to those in need.

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Sprint’s New Community-Grant Programs to Award Atlanta-Area Non-Profit Organizations More Than $50,000 in 2009

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sprint (NYSE: S) announced two new community programs through which the Sprint Foundation, Sprint’s philanthropic arm, will award more than $50,000 in grants to Atlanta-area charitable organizations during 2009. The programs will help local non-profits continue to offer important services to Atlanta, while also recognizing the hard-working and dedicated individuals who themselves have made a difference in this community.

“At Sprint, giving back to the community is an important part of what we do, and the two new philanthropic programs we’re launching in Atlanta are a great example of that,” said Debby Ballard, Sprint’s director of Community Relations. “We are pleased to offer these grants, which will not only help local non-profits further their critical programs, but also shine the spotlight on some of Atlanta’s unsung community heroes.”

Sprint Local Grant Program – Supporting local organizations

The Sprint Local Grant Program will provide two $25,000 grants to Atlanta-area organizations to help fund programs supporting Sprint’s charitable focus areas of youth development, arts and culture, and environment stewardship. Eligible organizations must be a 501(c)3 non-profit with offices in the Atlanta area (Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding and Rockdale Counties).

Nominations for the Sprint Local Grant Program may be submitted between May 1 and June 30, 2009. Finalists will be notified in September, and the two recipient organizations will be awarded their grants at a recognition event later in 2009.

Sprint Community Champions Program – Recognizing local individuals

The Sprint Community Champions Program recognizes one adult and one high-school student who have made positive impacts on the people and organizations in the Atlanta community. The adult – called a Local Champion – will have a $5,000 grant donated in his or her name to a qualified non-profit organization of his or her choice. The high-school student – called a Youth Champion – will have a $2,500 grant donated in his or her name to a qualified non-profit organization of his or her choice. Eligible individuals for both the Local Champion and the Youth Champion must reside in the Atlanta area (Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding and Rockdale Counties).

Nominations for the Sprint Community Champion Program will be accepted between May 1 and June 30, 2009. The two selected individuals will be notified in September, and grants in these individuals’ names will be awarded to qualifying organizations of their choice by the end of the year.

For additional information about the Sprint Local Grant Program or the Sprint Community Champions Program or to submit a nomination for either program (beginning May 1), please visit www.sprint.com/localgiving.

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Braves Foundation's Eighth Annual 'Jerseys Off Our Backs,' Presented by Majestic, Raises $18,000

Atlanta Braves players and manager Bobby Cox took the jerseys off their backs on Saturday, June 7, raising $18,000 for several organizations including the Norcross High School Dugout Club, the Brain Tumor Foundation for Children, March of Dimes, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Special Olympics of Georgia, and the Atlanta Braves Foundation.

Scratch off tickets were sold by organization volunteers on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and each night's winners returned on Saturday to take part in the post-game "Jerseys Off Our Backs" on-field ceremony. Winning fans took the field after the game and received the Braves game-worn jerseys right off the players' backs.

The Atlanta Braves Foundation is the non-profit arm of the Atlanta Braves that actively supports community organizations and their programs within the metro Atlanta area. Since its inception in 1992, the Atlanta Braves Foundation has provided support to thousands of metro Atlanta based organizations and has contributed more than 2.7 million dollars in financial assistance to the community. Through the generous support of Braves players, employees, sponsors and fans, the Atlanta Braves Foundation continuously strives to improve the quality of life for our youth.

Help Fund Classrooms And Save Money - Enjoy the City Books Half Price

This year Fayette residents have been enjoying the many discounts and buy one, get one free deals offered by local businesses through the Enjoy the City coupon book. Now residents can save even more money while helping teachers bring innovative academic lessons and projects to Fayette’s students.

Starting in June, residents can purchase the books for $10, half off the cover price. For every book purchased, $5 will go directly to the Fayette County Education Foundation to help fund grants for teachers of the Fayette County School System. The books are on sale at the board of education office as long as quantities last.

Since 2002, hundreds of teachers have received grants to implement dynamic lessons and projects such as cooking food in chemistry labs to demonstrate chemical reactions, sewing literary quilts to reinforce a theme or point made by a famous author and sponsoring American Sign Language classes before and after school to help students better understand and interact with deaf and hard of hearing classmates. Projects such as these open the doors to learning for many students by capturing their attention, appealing to their interests and tying what they learn to real life.

These lessons have all occurred in Fayette’s classrooms and are just a sampling of the educational innovation happening throughout the county, but none of these projects would have been possible without the support of the Fayette County Education Foundation.

For more information about the Enjoy the City coupon books or the Fayette County Education Foundation, contact Melinda Berry-Dreisbach, 770-460-3535.

UPS Foundation Supports China Disaster Relief Effort

BUSINESS WIRE--UPS (NYSE:UPS) is contributing more than US$1 million (7 million RMB) in cash and in-kind support to the earthquake relief efforts in China through its charitable arm, The UPS Foundation.

UPS is making a cash donation of $500,000 to the American Red Cross in support of Red Cross earthquake response efforts on the ground, led by the Red Cross Society of China. UPS has pledged an additional $500,000 for in-kind support to aid the delivery of relief supplies.

An additional US$50,000 (350,000 RMB) has been pledged locally to the China Charity Federation for medicine, biscuits, clothing, quilts, drinking water, tents, umbrella, torches, candles and masks among other items. The China Charity Federation is a China-based non-governmental humanitarian agency that provides assistance to low-income families and offers social relief work to those in need.

“The devastation in Chengdu is heartbreaking,” said Lisa Hamilton, president, The UPS Foundation. “Through the efforts of the Red Cross and the China Charity Foundation, UPS intends to be a part of the effort to alleviate some of the suffering there.”

“The American Red Cross is grateful for the compassionate support of The UPS Foundation. Their generosity enables the Red Cross to carry out our humanitarian mission and allows us to make a difference in the lives of the individuals and families that have been affected by this terrible disaster,” said Jeffrey T. Towers, Chief Development Officer for the American Red Cross. “I would like to thank the UPS Foundation, and the entire UPS family, for their longstanding support.”

UPS employees also are being encouraged to make donations to this effort through the Red Cross at www.redcross.org or through Aidmatrix at www.aidmatrix.org/china. UPS also is a major sponsor of AidMatrix, an online system that connects donors and aid agencies for the more efficient delivery of goods destined for emergency relief sites.

In another move in Asia, UPS has expanded its support of relief efforts in Myanmar to include in-kind shipping and logistical support and expertise. UPS will deploy a UPS supply chain expert to Thailand as part of the United Nations’ Logistics Emergency Teams in support of the World Food Program’s aid efforts to Myanmar.

UPS also is providing an airplane to fly relief supplies from Utah to Thailand where they will be processed for transport to Myanmar. Further, UPS is assisting CARE International’s operation in Thailand by assembling aid packages to be distributed to families including blankets, jerry cans (for water), plastic sheeting, clothes, kitchen and hygiene items.

UPS previously announced its initial effort to support the Myanmar relief efforts through CARE, which has been established in Myanmar for 14 years.

Foundation Offers Military Families Financial Help

By Samantha L. Quigley
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11, 2008 - Servicemembers on extended deployments can rest easier knowing that if their family experiences an unexpected financial emergency, help is available.

The American Soldier Foundation was created to assist servicemembers on extended duty and their families, Daniel Wright, the organization's president, said. Assistance also can extend to families of those killed in the line of duty.

"We believe that the lives of the men and women keeping our country safe should not be any harder than they have to be," Wright said. "The foundation can provide grants or interest-free loans for medical expenses, education, funeral expenses, marriage counseling, financial planning and a wide variety of other services."

Through its Web site, the organization also offers resources for education, family life, employment and personal finance. Military families can get advice on whether to buy or rent a home, check current mortgage rates or even determine how much a skill set is worth in different job markets.

The American Soldier Foundation recently became a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and corporations with military personnel and their families serving at home and abroad.

"I think the (affiliation) with America Supports You will provide a lot of exposure for a cause that can never be paid too much attention," Wright said. "There is no more valiant, heroic and, regrettably, too often a thankless job in this world than a (servicemember) in the United States military.

"It is because of these individuals that the rest of us can go to work, raise our families, and keep this country," he added.