We gave away $36,000 to non-profits in Whatcom and Skagit County on September 14th!

Walton Beverage and the Whatcom Community Foundation want to extend a special thanks to all of the non-profits who participated in our Local Pepsi Refresh Project and the inspiration you bring to our community! We had 44 applications total, over 16,000 hits to the voting page of our website and approximately 2,600 people who created a login to vote daily! What a success! Check back in next summer for the possibility of the Local Pepsi Refresh Project becoming an annual summer event.

We announced the winners September 14th at Sunset Cost Cutter with KGMI radio--there was a great turnout, free BBQ, prizes and product sampling. Look for the KGMI podcast of the event to hear the live footage.

Our winners decided by public vote for the Local Refresh Project are:

1st for $10,000: "Michael Koenen NFL All-Star Football Kids Camp"

   2nd for $6,000: The Volunteer Center for the "Project Homeless Connect"

3rd for $4,000: Lydia Place to "foster community and education at low-income housing projects by providing life skills classes"

4th for $2,000: Old Town Christian Ministries "Amy's Place" which reaches out to street involved youth addressing drug and alcohol addictions

  Our planning committee from Walton Beverage and the Whatcom Community Foundation were so inspired by all 44 applications we received that we came up with $10,000 of additional grant money to create the Local Refresh Standout Awards designed to help out the applications that we felt stood out!

We gave: $2,000 to the NW Therapeutic Riding Center for the "purchase of a therapeutic horse to provide dramatic, lasting benefits and sustainability”

  $2,000 to the Whatcom County Council on Aging to "serve a senior more than soup and cereal"

  $1,500 to The Bellingham Food Bank for their "Small Potatoes Gleaning Project"

  $1,500 to Brigadoon Youth and Service Dog Programs to "help at-risk youth students learn to train dogs to assist children and adults with disabilities"

$1,500 to the Burlington Edison School District to "keep students in school—decrease truancy, drop-outs, drug dependency, gang involvement and violence”

  $1,500 to the Brigid Collins House for their program to "imagine a world without child sexual abuse"

Please e-mail any questions about the Local Pepsi Refresh Project to: localrefresh@waltonbeverage.com.