Happy Friday! We’re looking forward to a bit of extra rest during the long weekend and we know a few grantees who could use a day off after all their hard work. Read & Discuss
Nursery School For Tucson’s Neediest
Like many parts of the country, Tucson, Arizona’s working class Pueblo Gardens neighborhood is feeling the effects of the economic downturn. Unemployment is up and increasing numbers of moms and dads are pounding the pavement looking for work. So who’s minding the kids while parents are out job hunting? For too many impoverished families who can’t afford childcare, the answer is no one. Fortunately, Pepsi Refresh Grantee Tucson Nursery School is stepping up and using its $50,000 grant to subsidize childcare costs for the area’s neediest families. Read & Discuss
By: Liz Dwyer of GOOD | September 3rd, 2010 
This Week In The Refresh Project
By: Carla Fernandez, Pepsi Refresh Grants Manager
We’ve got a couple of exciting news alerts from two Pepsi Refresh grantees who are making sure kids have a blast at school- between national television appearances and scoring additional funding, our grantees are making us proud while making a difference in their communities. Read & Discuss
By: Refresh Team of GOOD | August 27th, 2010 
Grantee Update: Beating Up A Refresh Grantee For The Sake Of Learning
I used to think I’d never give a Pepsi Refresh grantee a full-force kick to the groin, but then I headed to Arvada, Colorado to attend a special day of classes with martial arts and self-defense expert Jay Charness. Through his A.P.E. (Awareness, Protection, Empowerment) non-profit, Charness focuses on safety for women and kids. Read & Discuss
By: Liz Dwyer of GOOD | August 25th, 2010 
This Week In the Pepsi Refresh Project: Jammies And School Support
By: Pepsi Refresh Grant Management Team
Summer’s winding down and students and teachers are preparing to head back to school. The grant management team has been helping grant recipients prepare for the new year by getting playgrounds built at Meeker Elementary, as well as setting up academic support programs like books, transportation and child care provided by Project Paul to single mothers going back to school- yet another example of grant recipients coming together to support one another. Read & Discuss
By: Refresh Team of GOOD | August 20th, 2010 Ambassador Live Facebook Chat With Liz Dwyer 2-3 pm EST Friday Aug. 20th
Back to school time is finally here, and if your neighborhood’s anything like mine, education issues are probably front and center. After all, there’s plenty of bad news to go around: drastically slashed budgets mean more school districts are moving to four days of instruction per week and a recent report from the Schott Foundation For Public Education dropped the bomb that only 47% of black males nationwide are graduating from high school. The Los Angeles Times is even being boycotted by the local teacher’s union, UTLA, for announcing plans to publish a searchable online database where parents (and anybody else) can look up a teacher’s high stakes standardized test score results. The database “outs” teachers whose students don’t do so well on the tests and links teacher effectiveness with those tests. Read & Discuss
By: Liz Dwyer of GOOD | August 19th, 2010 How To: Line Your Pockets In College
Heading off to college for the first time? If so, your to-do list probably includes dorm room decoration, choosing the right classes and ditching your high school duds for a decidedly collegiate style. However, Pepsi Refresh grantee Economic Empowerment Initiative (EEI) wants to add something else to your back-to-school agenda: getting your finances ready. Not sure how to get on the right path with budgets and credit? EEI’s Executive Director Samuel T. Jackson gave us some tips for ensuring you get your money straight for the next four years and beyond. Read & Discuss
By: Liz Dwyer of GOOD | August 19th, 2010 
Grantee Story: Charting A New Course In Science And Math Education
A shortage of American science and tech-savvy professionals may be a harsh reality today, but the next generation of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) experts is sure to hail from Saline, Michigan. Under the guidance of Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Services, Steve Laatsch, the town of 9,000, located 12 miles from Ann Arbor, is set to roll out Project Lead The Way to 440 seventh graders at Saline Middle School. With a $25,000 Pepsi Refresh grant to purchase the project’s laptop computers and hands-on tools needed for experiential learning, Saline is set to kick off the 2010-2011 school year rolling out its new approach to STEM education. Read & Discuss
By: Liz Dwyer of GOOD | August 18th, 2010 
Impact Snapshot: Schoolhouse Rocking
In every month since the Pepsi Refresh Project launched in January, we’ve received a remarkable number of education ideas. In fact, you have cast more votes for education projects than for any other category of projects. In the weeks ahead, we’ll be presenting quick, big picture visual snapshots of the incredible work coming out of the Refresh Project. Today we note your impact on the American schoolhouse.
By: Refresh Team of GOOD | August 11th, 2010 
Grantee Story: Taking Sex Abuse Prevention To School
Chicago resident Dr. Colleen Cira, a 29 year-old licensed clinical psychologist, is on a mission to, “change the way that girls think about themselves and each other,” and stop our nation’s sexual abuse crisis. With her newly minted non-profit, The Global Sisterhood (TGS), Cira hopes to initiate a sexual abuse education and support program for girls across the Midwest. Thanks to the $5,000 Pepsi Refresh Project grant she earned in June, the TGS idea is finally coming to life. Read & Discuss
By: Liz Dwyer of GOOD | August 11th, 2010 
