AUB receives donation from PepsiCo International
The American University of Beirut has received a $40,000-check from PepsiCo International, which will help support several funds providing financial aid to students.
PepsiCo Vice President Talal El-Khalil recently presented PepsiCo’s ‘Gatorade’ check of $40,000 to AUB Vice President for Development and External Relations, Mr. Stephen Jeffrey in the presence of Assistant Vice President for Development, Dr. Imad Baalbaki, Associate Director of Development Operations, Mrs Soha Hmaidan and Director of Information and Public Relations, Mr. Ibrahim Khoury.
The donation will be split among several funds that support students with special needs, the best student athlete, as well as the financial aid fund.
“We are extremely thankful to Pepsi for its long history of partnership with AUB to financially assist some of our brightest students,” said AUB VP for Development and External Relations Stephen Jeffrey. “We are impressed with Pepsi’s new initiative to support students with special needs. Indeed, we welcome this new initiative”.
PepsiCo started its scholarship fund in 1995 working with AUB’s Development office and targeting students that excel academically. This year, PepsiCo announced that it will expand its fund to include students with special needs. “We strongly believe the importance of supporting hard-working and high-achieving students and are pleased to assist them in fulfilling their goals for a better future,” declared El-Khalil.
Influenced by the international trend of helping the disabled, PepsiCo International created a fund, a considerable amount of which will be spent on students with special needs. Present with El-Khalil were PepsiCo’s Diversity & Inclusion council members, Nadine Zeidan and Wissam Tawil, who are leading the Levant Market Unit efforts to help special needs students continue their education.
“As part of PepsiCo’s mission, we seek to provide opportunities for our business partners and the communities in which we operate. Through this contribution, we are helping fulfill our social commitment and sustain our vision,” said El-Khalil.
