Destapa su Futuro with Coca Cola.

The Coca-Cola Company announced a campaign with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) awarding more than $300,000 in scholarships during Hispanic Heritage Month. The Destapa su Futuro / Uncap Their Future initiative, working with participating retailers, will help HSF promote closing the Hispanic college attainment gap.

“We have enjoyed an extraordinary relationship with HSF for more than 30 years and are committed to help them meet their goal of having a college degree in every Latino household by 2025,” said Reinaldo Padua, AVP Hispanic Marketing, Coca-Cola North America. “Together, we want to motivate people to get involved and help make a difference.”

From now through Oct. 31, students who are 16 years of age or older can apply for a scholarship at www.hsf.net/cocacola by answering three thought-provoking essay questions. Students must reflect on how their heritage affects their career goals, the importance of education in their lives and their community service experiences.

“It’s an honor to be part of Destapa su Futuro and inspire Latinos to achieve success through education,” said Henry Cejudo, US Olympic wrestling gold medalist and campaign spokesperson. “By pursuing my own college degree and supporting this initiative along with Coca-Cola and HSF, I hope to encourage young Latinos to make education their priority.”

As part of Destapa su Futuro consumers can visit participating retailers to learn more about how to apply for scholarships in their area. To learn more about Coca-Cola and HSF, visit www.mycokerewards.com/education. This page will also link through to the scholarship application page.

“The dramatic growth of the Hispanic population in the U.S. creates new challenges in providing access to education, given the community’s fragmentation, cultural differences and language barriers,” said Frank Alvarez, HSF President and CEO. “In partnership with Coca-Cola, we want to ease the process for Hispanics to have the opportunity to obtain higher education. Over the last 37 years, more than 50,000 deserving Latino students have been awarded HSF scholarships, many of them the first in their families to go to college. The Destapa su Futuro campaign will help open the door for countless students to earn a college degree.”

Participating retailers include:

o Selected Publix Super Markets stores in the South Florida region
o Tony’s Finer Foods in Illinois
o Kum & Go LC in Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana
o Greater Houston Retailers Association (GHRA) in Houston, Texas
o Atlanta Retailers Association (ARA) in Atlanta, Georgia
o Stop & Shop Supermarkets throughout New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire
o Key retailers in the West, such as Superior Grocers, Gonzalez Northgate Markets, El Super, Vallarta Supermarkets and Cardenas Markets

“Our retail partners are committed to helping Latino students in their communities and are helping fund this initiative as well as raising awareness of the importance of a higher education among Latinos,” continued Padua, “We hope that this initiative continues to inspire others to support this worthy cause.”