Month: May 2024

Taco Bell blog

IRVINE, Calif., May 15, 2024 /3BL/ – The Taco Bell Foundation announced it is awarding $10 million in Live Más Scholarships, providing over 1,000 passion-driven students with resources to fuel their educational dreams. Of the $10 million, $7 million will go to Taco Bell fans nationwide and $3 million will go to Taco Bell restaurant team members. Scholarship award amounts range from $5,000 to $25,000 per recipient.

For the first time in the scholarship’s history, Taco Bell will be celebrating this year’s new $25,000 winners by providing a Taco Bell gift card to fuel up on tacos during the upcoming school year. And that’s not the only thing unique about this scholarship. Forgoing grades, essays, and test scores, this one-of-a-kind passion-based scholarship allows students aged 16-26 to highlight their passion and educational aspirations through a two-minute video. This year’s class is comprised of students with a wide variety of passions and nontraditional paths, with numerous scholars attending community college, vocational or trade schools.

“The Live Más Scholarship cultivates a passionate community of diverse individuals united by their shared commitment to breaking down barriers for the causes they believe in,” said Jennifer Bradbury, Executive Director of the Taco Bell Foundation. “The unwavering passion exhibited by these students never ceases to amaze us. We provide them with pathways to access new opportunities and resources, empowering them to create the change they envision.”

This program shows that a little kindness goes a long way. Scholarships awarded to fans are funded 100% by customers through the Taco Bell Foundation’s Round Up fundraiser, in which the average donation is 44 cents. Team member scholarships are funded by donations from Taco Bell Corp. and Taco Bell Franchisees.

Gracie S.: Inspired by athletics since a young age, Gracie quickly grew tired of hearing “you’re just a girl,” in response to her big ambitions in the sports world. She developed a nonprofit organization called “Girls on the Mound” designed to aid young women through the male-dominated sports business industry. Gracie is a Taco Bell team member and received a once in a lifetime surprise from her sports idol Davante Adams when the wide receiver surprised her with the scholarship at his Las Vegas football camp in April. Gracie aspires to further her education in business management and marketing, while also breaking barriers for women passionate about sports.Ethan C.: Ethan is a passionate storyteller who is currently studying Film Production at Chapman University. Growing up in a multicultural household, he developed a keen eye for untold stories in everyday life. From personal family documentaries to a film shedding light on racial injustice, his broad scope of work aims to share narratives other than just his own. He hopes his continued education in filmmaking will allow him to communicate authentic messaging and share transformative stories to bring hope to and unite people.

This year also marks the launch of the Live Más Scholarship Alumni Leadership Council, a group of twelve alumni leaders who will undertake a year-long commitment to drive engagement, amplify stories, elevate narratives and foster relationships throughout the Taco Bell Foundation board. Scholars will also have the opportunity to travel to San Diego to attend the Live Más Scholarship Summer of Connection this July, a one-of-a-kind conference designed to cultivate career skills and connections.

About Taco Bell Foundation
Taco Bell Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity that helps break down barriers to educate and inspire the next generation of America’s young leaders. Since 1992, the Taco Bell Foundation has reached more than 5 million young people across the country and has awarded more than $155 million in grants and scholarships, focused on education and career readiness. For more information about the Taco Bell Foundation, visit www.tacobellfoundation.org.

Originally published on U.S. Bank company blog

With more than 25 years of financial industry experience and acumen Delphine Pruitt knows, and is known by, just about everyone serving Black-owned businesses in Southern California. But, more importantly, she is trusted and respected by them too.

With a generous heart for helping others and an easy-going grace that helps her to move from community events to corporate boardroom without missing a beat, her efforts have garnered prominent recognition, including the recent honor of a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from the Biden administration. The recognition is bestowed upon individuals who exemplify unwavering integrity, outstanding accomplishments, and exceptional contributions to serving the public good. She also received an honorary doctorate degree from Leaders Esteem Christian Bible University for her outstanding commitment to humanitarian causes throughout her career.

“The Lifetime Presidential Achievement Award is an incredible honor,” said Pruitt. “But what I know for sure is that being able to help small business owners achieve their dreams is the gift of a lifetime.”

In 2023, Pruitt joined U.S. Bank Chief Diversity Officer Greg Cummingham to accept a recognition from the Greater Los Angeles African American Chambers of Commerce, which honored U.S. Bank as the Banking and Financial Corporation of the Year, a relationship that Pruitt helped to nurture and strengthen.

“Delphine is helping people to pursue their dreams. She’s opened doors for U.S. Bank to provide support in our communities of color and has transformed the lives of countless individuals while propelling economic growth and amplifying voices in marginalized communities across the country,” said Cesar Hernandez, Business Access Advisor Leader in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Washington.

This small business month, U.S. Bank is celebrating the entrepreneurs who power small businesses across the country, and Pruitt and her peers the Business Access Advisors serve as important ambassadors of U.S. Bank Access Commitment®, the bank’s long-term approach to help close the wealth gap for underserved communities, including communities of color, which launched in 2021, and expanded to include bilingual Business Access Advisors in 2024.

A typical week in the life of Pruitt provides a glimpse of the depth of her connections with clients across the community. First, she headed to downtown Los Angeles to visit U.S. Bank client O2EPCM, Inc. dba O2 Engineering, Projects & Construction Management, an award-winning company founded in 2016 by Omoné O. Livingston. While already a U.S. Bank client, Livingston didn’t actually meet Pruitt until years later at a community event and they immediately hit it off.

“I met Delphine at a networking tea, and realized we have a lot in common. We both have a strong spiritual faith and prioritize giving back to the community,” said Livingston, who participates as a volunteer in many philanthropic initiatives, most notably acting as a mentor in several scholarship and internship programs benefiting women in STEM and youth from underserved communities. “The O2 in our business name are my initials, double ‘O,’ and O2 also represents Oxygen, a breath of fresh air our team brings to projects we are involved in, and Delphine does that too!”

Later, Pruitt heads to Leimert Park for a visit with longtime U.S. Bank client Anthony “Tony” Jolly, owner of several businesses with a vision for fostering and elevating the community in the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles.

Pruitt recalls, “I met Tony at an event where he was speaking. Folks around town had told me all about the work he was doing to support the community, so I introduced myself and let him know I had been looking for him and that I was here to help him.”

Jolly reflects on that meeting and their subsequent working relationship by saying, “It was nice to be looked for, especially by a talented banker and ally like Delphine. She always answers my phone calls – on the first ring – I don’t know how she does that.”

Jolly is an active member of the nonprofit Black Owned and Operated Community Land Trust, which is working to welcome new jobs, economic opportunities, healthy foods, entertainment, creativity, and culture into the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles, known as Black LA, a moniker showcasing the neighborhood’s nearly 80% Black population.

Jolly’s many businesses include the plant-based eatery ORA, which he created to provide healthy options and a community-driven cafe culture. Jolly is also creating new jobs through a workforce development program established by his coffee brand Crenshaw Coffee Co. His company’s coffee is sold online, at ORA, and at events through the Crenshaw Coffee Co. cart, which was recently a star contributor to the U.S. Bank Slauson and Crenshaw Branch block party celebrating the bank’s first Black Heritage Community Branch.

“I’m also helping to plan the upcoming Leimert Park Juneteenth celebration which will feature the best coffee, creativity, and culture that the Crenshaw District has to offer,” says Jolly. “Delphine plans on attending, and I will have a cup of decaf ready for her.”

We put off routine screenings and sometimes even avoid them. But you never know when one might save your life.

That was the experience of Natalie Hovany, our vice president of HR business partnership, who went in for her regular mammogram despite having no symptoms, only to have the test uncover triple-negative breast cancer. Despite the difficult diagnosis, it allowed her doctors to treat the cancer at an early stage, increasing the likelihood of success.

As part of our ongoing commitment to our teammates’ health and well-being, we put in place an educational campaign to increase use of preventive care screenings and track our progress against that goal. Over the last year, we’ve seen a significant increase in the number of teammates and their family members prioritizing preventive care by getting annual well visits, building a relationship with their primary care physician and scheduling routine screenings — all of which we expect to contribute to improved health outcomes.

Looking for inspiration to make an appointment today? Natalie is sharing her story in hopes that it can encourage others to prioritize preventive screenings.

The Clorox Company is dedicated to creating a culture that values and prioritizes the health and well-being of our teammates. Our benefits, programs, and resources are designed to support physical, mental and financial well-being. Learn more about life at Clorox here.

Orange County Rescue Mission’s Double R Ranch in San Diego needed a little bit of rescuing itself… enter the Beast Mode Team!

The 142-acre property is a working horse ranch that provides a safe place for people to heal, learn and start a new life, through equestrian therapy, allowing them to experience the healing effects of hard work in the outdoors with animals. It welcomes men, women and children, focusing on veterans and their families.

During the spring, some 35 members of our Beasts, hungry to do some good, descended on the ranch for four straight hours of hard cleaning, painting, renovating, demolishing and rebuilding!

And the result? In the words of OCRM’s Michaela Dolium in her thank you note:

“I just have to share how incredible it has been to work Eddie Vargas, his Taskforce team, and the entire Beast Mode team. They put in WORK at our Double R Ranch property volunteering yesterday. I cannot express how much of a joy it has been to work with them. The work they did demoing and cleaning our future Men’s, Women’s, and Children’s buildings will be a part of countless stories of hope and restoration for those experiencing homelessness in our community. Thank you to everyone at Monster Energy Cares!”

Visit Orange County Rescue Mission’s Double R Ranch site to learn more