The United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties continues to compete for a $25,000 grant from Pepsi’s Refresh Everything program.

Pepsi will award 32 grants totaling $1.3 million during the month of October, and grant recipients are determined by a public vote that will conclude Oct. 31.

The web address to vote for United Way in this process is refresheverything.com/uwrcc and voters may vote up to once per day per e-mail address. As of Oct. 11, United Way was ranked 214 out of 1,150 entries in the program. The top 10 entries as voted upon by the public will be the recipients of the grant.

If United Way were to be voted a Pepsi grant recipient, the $25,000 funding would be allocated toward its Day of Action, which unites hundreds of volunteers with local agencies to perform a day of service. The most recent Day of Action on May 21st, 2010, consisted of more than 260 volunteers at 25 sites and included projects such as landscaping, painting, installing new lockers, and repairing playground equipment.

Previously, United Way has recruited volunteers and coordinated their efforts while the agencies have supplied the equipment and materials associated with the projects. However, the grant from Pepsi would result in the offsetting of those expenses assumed by the agencies.

Only about 50% of United Way’s partner agencies were able to participate in this year’s Day of Action, many of those agencies stating that they simply could not afford the materials required to complete their projects.

The Day of Action involves volunteers from companies, organizations, schools, and the community and allows the opportunity for not only the agencies and schools to receive needed services, but to allow community members to further develop relationships with and witness first-hand the needs involved with those agencies.
 
For more information about United Way or the Pepsi Refresh Everything program, please visit www.uwrutherford.org.