Last week I lead a group of 30 Pepsi volunteers to help out at the Food Bank of Westchester.  This is the third year I’ve been leading a team for the Pepsi Gives Back program, because it makes me feel proud to work for a company that gives back to the community. I selected the Food Bank of Westchester because it helps needy families and people in our own county.  Last year alone, it distributed over 6 million pounds of food to Westchester residents. Despite last Friday’s 90-degree temperatures,  our team worked hard inside a hot warehouse, sorting, categorizing, checking and re-packaging food donations to prepare them for distribution.  Some of the volunteers have already expressed an interest in returning with other people from Pepsi at a future date. This project is a true testament to Pepsi’s dedication to “Performance with Purpose”. Ed Yee - Senior Finance Analyst,... Read more

So #9 on my bucket list is definitely not “Paint a Barn,” but that was what I found myself doing on a sweltering Friday at Muscoot Farm in Somers, New York.., along with more than 20 of my PBC/PepsiCo colleagues for PBC Gives Back Days 2010.  Painting is not hard-work, per se, but doing ANYTHING in temperatures above 95 sure is! We really made a difference at Muscoot.  Not only did a really, really (REALLY) big barn get painted (red of course,) – we cleared so much brush at the farm’s property line that we could see clear across Rt. 100. (They used a machete – I didn’t visit that area too often!) Another group of volunteers assembled ten picnic tables in a “notably” smelly barn, and then moved them outside to the “fresh” humid air for another group to stain them. At lunchtime, we immediately reaped the... Read more

I’ve been with the PBC family for 10 years and this is my third year participating in the PBC Gives Back program. On July 16th, 9 headquarters employees and I participated in the PBC Gives Back event in Danbury, CT at Family and Children’s Aid (FCAP). FCA has been a refuge for abused and neglected children who are without protection, without parental support and without – tragically – hope. More than just offering the basic human rights of food, clothing and shelter, FCA strives to heal and support Connecticut’s children and families by meeting a higher level of need, teaching them about respect, compassion and trust. Working with the FCA has opened our eyes to the needs of every child in our local community. The volunteers were able to focus their time in completely rebuilding a stone paver patio for a women’s safe house, and they... Read more

Last Friday, I dedicated my day to painting at Kids in Crisis (KIC) in Cos Cob, CT.  I was just one of a team of about 20 employees from the IT, HR, Supply Chain, and other functions from PBC’s Somers office to participate in this project.  This was my third year of helping with PBC Gives Back, and it was a really rewarding experience. Kids in Crisis does so much to provide a safe place and assist our youth through the most difficult times.  The organization is right in my community, so I felt great about being there to help out.   I was impressed and inspired by the efforts of so many co-workers from all around the NY/CT region.  Even though we are all so busy right now, everyone was committed to getting the job done and giving back to the community.  The staff members at... Read more

My name is Kerri Kugler and last week I was able to step away from my “day” job, Human Resources Coordinator at PBC, to be a part of a amazing PBC Gives Back Day!  This was my third year at a PBC Gives Back event, and each year they are even more exciting and rewarding. I painted children’s rooms at the Kids in Crisis emergency shelter in Cos Cob, CT.  I selected this project because I wanted to give back to a organization that gives children hope as well as gives them the tools to succeed in life.  This experience is a great way to learn more about your co-workers and makes me feel like PBC truly cares about the communities we live in.  I can’t wait to see what next year will bring! Kerri Kugler – HR Coordinator, PBC Read more

I've been involved in the PBC Gives Back program since the beginning, and was thrilled to volunteer last week at Hillside Food Outreach, alongside more than 17 of my PepsiCo colleagues. People from the PCNA, Purchase and Valhalla offices all worked together, supporting an important cause. Read more

With sheets of rain pouring down on the Food for Good Mobile Feeding route, we didn’t know if there would be any children out to receive the breakfast and lunches the Food for Good team was serving. “As we turned the corner we saw color in the distance, only to realize it was children and parents holding umbrellas in the rain waiting on the Food for Good truck to arrive,” <img Read more

Over the first few weeks, we noticed a few of the delivery stops on the Food for Good Mobile Feeding routes really didn’t have many kids. While some of the stops are passing out up to 150-200 breakfasts and lunches to the kids, there were a few stops that would only have 5-10 kids show up each day. Read more

Wow - what a ride. My first 30 days at PepsiCo have been the busiest and most travel-heavy 30 days I've experienced in a long time. I've worked directly with a workforce more diverse in their ideas, backgrounds, and cultures than I've ever met collectively within any single organization. I've pitched new ideas that, as I write this, are already in production. I've bounced crazy thoughts to teams that have increased the crazy (and awesome) factor exponentially - and were as excited as I was to play with the possibilities. And while I realize I'm still in the honeymoon phase of my new employment - all this has come at the low, low cost of looking like a gushing fanboy for a calendar month. Read more