PepsiCo Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary by Giving Back to the Chicago Community

“50 for 50 Community Give Back” Grants Presented to Chicago Cares Inc. and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago

In celebration of PepsiCo’s (NYSE: PEP) 50 years as a combined food and beverage company, PepsiCo Chicago is giving back to the local community through strategic grants and volunteer events. PepsiCo Chicago is home to many of PepsiCo’s most iconic and loved nutrition brands, including Quaker, Tropicana, Naked Juice and Gatorade.

For more than five decades, PepsiCo and the PepsiCo Foundation have worked to build brighter futures in the communities where we operate through employee volunteerism and community giving. This year, as part of the company’s overall “50 for 50 Community Give Back” program, the PepsiCo Foundation is supporting Chicago Cares and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago with grants of $62,500 each. The PepsiCo Foundation will be providing 82 grants totaling $5 million globally.

“A key aspect of our 50th anniversary celebration is making a positive difference in the communities that have supported us and made our success possible,” said Lauren Burns, Senior Director of Communications at PepsiCo. “As a volunteer myself, I couldn’t be more proud that we are contributing to the great work that Chicago Cares and Big Brothers Big Sisters do for Chicagoans.”

The “50 for 50” program engaged employees to participate and select the organizations that ultimately received the grants. More than 5,000 employees have volunteered with Chicago Cares and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago over the years.

Since 1991, Chicago Cares has been creating volunteer experiences that connect people and communities to meet critical needs within diverse areas from hunger to education to job readiness. “Chicago Cares mobilizes tens of thousands of volunteers annually to make an impact in every corner of the city,” said Jenné Myers, chief executive officer of Chicago Cares. “Through this charitable grant and local employees’ volunteerism, PepsiCo is an integral part of this critical work, and will make a lasting and positive change in Chicago.”

Fellow grant recipient Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago has been empowering at-risk youth and improving their lifelong success through its high impact, professionally supported one-to-one mentoring program since 1967. Arthur Mollenhauer, chief executive officer for the organization, added that the grant will “provide a key investment to increase capacity and meet new demand in our Community and Site based mentorship programs throughout the four county Metropolitan area we serve. In addition, we can leverage the success we have had with the PepsiCo organization in development of our Workplace Mentoring program.”

For more information about the PepsiCo Foundation, visit http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Global-Citizenship.

About the PepsiCo Foundation

Established in 1962, the PepsiCo Foundation is the philanthropic anchor of PepsiCo, collaborating with non-profit organizations to develop innovative solutions to challenges facing underserved communities around the world. In support of PepsiCo's commitment to Performance with Purpose, the PepsiCo Foundation provides grants to eligible non-profit organizations to advance progress in the fields of Human, Environmental, and Talent Sustainability. For more information, visit: http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Global-Citizenship.

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $66 billion in net revenue in 2014, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker, and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose—our goal to deliver top-tier financial performance while creating sustainable growth and shareholder value. In practice, Performance with Purpose means providing a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to healthy eats; finding innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment and reduce our operating costs; providing a safe and inclusive workplace for our employees globally; and respecting, supporting, and investing in the local communities where we operate. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

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About Chicago Cares, Inc.

Chicago Cares creates volunteer experiences that connect people and communities to meet critical needs and build a stronger Chicago. Founded by Leslie Bluhm and Mary Prchal in 1991, Chicago Cares is the city’s leading nonprofit service organization that has mobilized 500,000 volunteers to meet Chicago’s most challenging needs. For more information, visit www.chicagocares.org.

About Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago

For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. As the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”), ages 6 through 18, in communities across the country. We develop positive relationships that have a direct and lasting effect on the lives of young people. For more information, visit www.bbbschgo.org.

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PepsiCo, Inc.Shana Andrews, [e-mail]