Frito-Lay and other PepsiCo employees from offices throughout the Dallas/Fort-Worth Metroplex took part in the sixth annual PepsiCo United Way Day of Caring Thursday.  In what stands as the largest corporate United Way Day of Caring event in North Texas, an estimated 1,300 Frito-Lay and PepsiCo volunteers contributed approximately 5,000 hours of their time to 20 United Way service providers to help North Texans in need.

Volunteers blanketed the area, working to paint and repair facilities, sort donations, and host fall festivals for children.  All projects align with United Way’s key focus areas of Education, Financial Stability, and Health.  In the past six years, PepsiCo’s Day of Caring event has contributed an estimated 29,000 volunteer hours to area non-profits.

At the media site at Preston Hollow's Arthur Kramer Elementary School, more than 50 volunteers worked alongside students to construct vegetable gardens, encouraging healthy eating habits, environmental awareness and responsibility.  Volunteers also painted the school building's exterior and repaired the roof of an outdoor gazebo.  Arthur Kramer is part of the Healthy Zone School Recognition Program, a partnership developed by United Way and the Cooper Institute and funded in part by PepsiCo Foundation to prevent childhood obesity.

 "The PepsiCo United Way Day of Caring is a great opportunity for our associates to get out and volunteer in the community," said Chris Kuechenmeister, Vice President Communications, PepsiCo.  "The wide range of projects and volunteer opportunities allows our associates to truly make an impact and experience firsthand life-changing connections with the clients who benefit from United Way programs."

PepsiCo and its Frito-Lay division have a long history of supporting United Way of Metropolitan Dallas.  Each fall, Frito-Lay and other DFW-based PepsiCo associates participate in a fundraising campaign to show their commitment to the community, investing more than $39 million in United Way programs over the last 15 years.  Support will help United Way reach its 10-year community goals: preparing at least 60 percent of kids to graduate ready to succeed, moving 250,000 people out of poverty permanently, and improving health across the region. 

"We are incredibly grateful for PepsiCo's longstanding and generous support of United Way," said Jennifer Sampson, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas president and CEO. "By giving their time, resources and collective heart power, employees are changing lives in North Texas forever, offering opportunity and secure futures for all who live and work here.” 

Volunteers supported the following local organizations during this year's PepsiCo United Way Day of Caring event:

• Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center
• Caldwell Elementary School
• ChildCareGroup
• Children’s Health
• Dallas Furniture Bank
• Goodwill Industries
• Healthy Zone School- Hexter Elementary School
• Healthy Zone School – Kramer Elementary School
• Healthy Zone School- Price Elementary
• Healthy Zone School- Robert T. Hill MS
• Jubilee Park and Community Center
• Mesquite Social Services
• Mi Escuelita
• Mosaic Family Services
• Nexus Recovery Center
• Pedi Place
• REAL School Gardens- Lorenzo De Zavala Elementary School
• The Salvation Army
• The Family Place
• The Samaritan Inn
• The Senior Source
• Trinity River Mission
• Vogel Alcove