PEARL MILLING COMPANY FURTHERS ITS COMMITMENT TO UPLIFTING BLACK WOMEN AND GIRLS, AWARDING 17 GRANT RECIPIENTS IN YEAR TWO OF P.E.A.R.L. PLEDGE PROGRAM
The community funding program will award a total of $1 million to non-profit organizations with the mission of fueling the success of Black women and girls
CHICAGO, Illinois (October 24, 2022) – Pearl Milling Company, the pancake mix and syrup brand that has been creating memorable breakfast moments for over 130 years, today announced the 2022 grant recipients of its P.E.A.R.L. Pledge program. This year, 17 non-profit organizations will be awarded grants to support meaningful services and education that promote Prosperity, Empowerment, Access, Representation and Leadership for Black women and girls in the U.S. A total of $1 million in grants will be awarded as part of Pearl Milling Company’s continued commitment to help uplift the Black community and PepsiCo’s broader Racial Equality Journey initiative.
“When we launched P.E.A.R.L. Pledge in 2021, we were incredibly inspired to see the breadth of organizations working to enrich the lives of Black women and girls across the country,” said Michelle McAlister, Senior Director of Marketing at PepsiCo. “This year, we remain committed to our mission and are excited to move it forward as we look to help support this year’s recipients, and further the positive impact they are having across the country. These organizations are critical and meaningful support systems in our communities, and we’re grateful to be in a position to help.”
The 2022 P.E.A.R.L. Pledge grant recipients have missions that address a wide range of subjects affecting Black women and girls including: homelessness, food insecurity, entrepreneur mentorship, mental health, breast cancer awareness and advocacy, and after-school programs. In addition to having a purpose that aligns with the P.E.A.R.L. Pledge mission and pillars, grant recipients were selected based on how they will use the funding to further their initiatives, among other criteria.
This year’s recipients represent 13 cities from across the Midwest, Northeast, Southeast and Southwest regions. They are:
Ajilla Foundation (Aurora, IL)
beGirl.World Global Scholars (Philadelphia, PA)
Black Girls Can (Queens, NY)
Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence (Atlanta, GA)
Girls on the Run Chicago (Chicago, IL)
GLOW 414 (Milwaukee, WI)
Gracious Hands (Charlotte, NC)
Humanity 360 (Suitland, MD)
Minnie's Food Pantry (Plano, TX)
Moms as Entrepreneurs (Baltimore, MD)
Room for Roots (Omaha, NE)
Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago (Chicago, IL)
The Be. Org (Baltimore, MD)
The Chrysalis Initiative (Philadelphia, PA)
The Hive Community Circle (Columbia, SC)
The Study Hall (Atlanta, GA)
The Foundation for Black Women’s Wellness (Madison, WI)
Pearl Milling Company partnered with an external Advisory Council, seeking their expertise in areas such as racial and social justice and entrepreneurship in the grant recipient selection process. The Advisory Council includes entrepreneur, activist and author Eunique Jones Gibson, entrepreneur, TV host and public speaker Tai Beauchamp, and social entrepreneur and author Jasmine Crowe.
As P.E.A.R.L. Pledge remains a critical part of Pearl Milling Company’s purpose, it also plays a role in progressing PepsiCo’s Racial Equality Journey. P.E.A.R.L. Pledge is one of several initiatives contributing to PepsiCo’s more than $400 million investment over five years focused on increasing Black representation at PepsiCo, supporting Black-owned businesses, and uplifting Black communities in the U.S. P.E.A.R.L. Pledge adds to PepsiCo's community investment to drive long-term change by addressing systemic barriers to economic opportunity for Black Americans.
To learn more about the 2022 grant recipients, visit www.pearlmillingcompany.com/pearlpledge/recipients and follow along on Instagram.
About Pearl Milling Company
Pearl Milling Company, owned by The Quaker Oats Company, a unit of PepsiCo, Inc., provides great tasting pancake mixes, syrups, cornmeal, flour, and grits products that have been helping families create memorable breakfast moments for over a century. Founded in 1888, Pearl Milling Company began as a small mill in St. Joseph, Missouri producing flour, cornmeal and, beginning in 1889, the famous selfrising pancake mix that would go on to be known as Aunt Jemima. Its pancake mix varieties include Original, Buttermilk, Whole Wheat, Cap’n Crunch’s Berrytastic Pancake Mix, as well as its Pancake On The Go products in Chocolate Chip and Buttermilk & Maple. Syrup varieties include Original, Lite, Butter Rich, Butter Lite, and Country Rich, in addition to several cornmeal, cornmeal mix and grits offerings. For more information, please visit www.pearlmillingcompany.com, www.facebook.com/pearlmillingcompany or follow us on Instagram @pearlmillingcompany.
About The Quaker Oats Company
The Quaker Oats Company, headquartered in Chicago, is a unit of PepsiCo, Inc., one of the world's largest consumer packaged goods companies. For more than 140 years, Quaker's brands have served as symbols of quality, great taste and nutrition. Quaker® Oats, Quaker® Rice Cakes and Quaker Chewy® Granola Bars are consumer favorites. For more information, please visit www.QuakerOats.com, www.Facebook.com/Quaker or follow us on Twitter and Instagram @Quaker.
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $79 billion in net revenue in 2021, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with PepsiCo Positive (pep+). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com, and follow on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @PepsiCo.
About the Ajilla Foundation
The Ajilla Foundation is a 501c3 organization with a vision to be a catalyst that provides solutions that close the gaps between women and men (the confidence gap, the opportunity gap, the gender gap, and the pay gap) in order to give future generations a competitive edge to be successful leaders and change agents.
