Month: July 2025
Filmmakers of STREET SMART: LESSONS FROM A TV ICON to share never-before-seen clips and stories from the life of the woman behind one of television’s most beloved characters
LOS ANGELES, July 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The team behind STREET SMART: LESSONS FROM A TV ICON will present a special sneak peek screening and panel at San Diego Comic-Con which runs from July 24 to July 27, 2025. (The official date and time of the sneak peek will be announced by Comic-Con in July.)
Audiences grew up with “Maria” from Sesame Street. Now, Comic-Con audiences will get a first look at the woman behind the character.
Directed by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Ernie Bustamante, STREET SMART traces Sonia Manzano’s inspiring journey from her roots in the South Bronx to becoming a television pioneer — and how she continues to shape culture on her own terms. Through rare interviews, original animation, and reenactments, the film goes beyond Sesame Street to reveal the struggles, triumphs, and defining moments that shaped the real Sonia.
The Comic-Con event will feature never-before-seen clips from the film, behind-the-scenes stories, and a conversation with the creative team.
Panelists include:
- Ernie Bustamante, Director
- Steven Canals, Producer (POSE)
- Jeffrey Aviles, Illustrator
- Grisselle Escotto, Actress who portrays Sonia Manzano in the film
- Misty Espinoza, Moderator & Impact Producer
Director Ernie Bustamante states,”This film is a coming-of-age story, a masterclass in resilience, and a testament to the power of television. Sonia has spent her entire life making television that educates and entertains. This documentary gives us the chance to learn from her once again. And I’m so excited to share it with Comic-Con audiences.”
ABOUT ERNIE BUSTAMANTE
Ernie Bustamante is an Emmy-nominated TV writer, filmmaker, and educator. He served as the creator/showrunner of the award-winning satirical web series BORDER PATROL. His stories center Latino characters and are deeply influenced by his upbringing in the Arizona desert. STREET SMART: LESSONS FROM A TV ICON is his debut feature film.
ABOUT SONIA MANZANO
Sonia Manzano was proudly raised in the South Bronx. Her love of performing led her to the prestigious High School of Performing Arts, followed by a drama scholarship to Carnegie Mellon University. She soon joined the groundbreaking off-Broadway production of Godspell.
At just 21 years old, Sonia landed the iconic role of “Maria” on SESAME STREET, becoming the first Latina to appear on national television in a regular role—a role she would embody for 44 years. Sonia quickly became a standout on the revolutionary children’s show, known for her comic timing and honest, heartfelt performances. “Maria” became a source of comfort and joy for millions of children—especially those who had never seen themselves represented on screen.
But Sonia was more than just a character. She became a trailblazer behind the scenes as well, joining the writing team on SESAME STREET, earning 15 Emmy Awards, and receiving the Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.
She is also a prolific author, with books such as The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano (which received the Pura Belpré Author Honor in 2013), Coming Up Cuban (2022), and her critically acclaimed memoir Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx (2015).
Today, Sonia creates television on her own terms. In 2021, she launched the animated PBS series ALMA’S WAY with Fred Rogers Productions, a show designed to empower the next generation of kids to think for themselves.
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comic-con-to-premiere-sneak-peek-of-documentary-on-sonia-manzano-aka-maria-from-sesame-street-302501728.html
SOURCE Renee Cafaro Executive Producer of STREET SMART: LESSONS FROM A TV ICON
HONOLULU, July 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Matson, Inc. (NYSE: MATX), a leading U.S. carrier in the Pacific, has published its 2024 Sustainability Report, which provides an overview of the company’s programs and initiatives focused on upholding high ethical standards, reducing environmental impact, and supporting its employees and communities.
A downloadable copy of Matson’s 2024 Sustainability Report is available on the company’s website at: https://www.matson.com/sustainability.html
About Matson
Founded in 1882, Matson (NYSE: MATX) is a leading provider of ocean transportation and logistics services. Matson provides a vital lifeline of ocean freight transportation services to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam, and to other island economies in Micronesia. Matson also operates premium, expedited services from China to Long Beach, California, provides service to Okinawa, Japan and various islands in the South Pacific, and operates an international export service from ports in Alaska to Asia. The Company’s fleet of owned and chartered vessels includes containerships, combination container and roll-on/roll-off ships and barges. Matson Logistics, established in 1987, extends the geographic reach of Matson’s transportation network throughout North America and Asia. Its integrated, asset-light logistics services include rail intermodal, highway brokerage, warehousing, freight consolidation, supply chain management, and freight forwarding to Alaska. Additional information about the Company is available at www.matson.com.
Contact:
Keoni Wagner
Matson
510-628-4534
kwagner@matson.com
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/matson-publishes-2024-sustainability-report-302501674.html
SOURCE MATSON, INC. – PR
- Continued to scale human rights due diligence across global operations and supply chains, with ~96% of owned plants and ~98% of prioritized supplier sites audited in the last three years.1
- Trained more than 50,000 colleagues since launching Human Rights Policy in 2021.
- Advanced efforts to help prevent child labor and support community resilience, expanding Child Labor Monitoring & Remediation Systems to cover ~89% of Cocoa Life communities in West Africa by the end of 2024.
CHICAGO, July 9, 2025 /3BL/ – Mondelēz International, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDLZ) released its 2024 Human Rights Due Diligence and Modern Slavery Report, outlining the company’s progress in helping to prevent, identify, and address potential human rights and modern slavery risks across its operations and value chain.
“Doing what’s right is ingrained in our Snacking Made Right mission. We strive to embed human rights due diligence into how we do business every day,” said Chris McGrath, Chief Impact & Sustainability Officer, Mondelēz International. “The scale of challenges needs increased focus and meaningful partnerships – and we continue to evolve and make progress on both fronts. We have strong execution plans that we believe will continue to support our growth around the world, underpinned by our focus on promoting a culture where everyone is treated with care and integrity.”
Scaling and Enhancing Due Diligence across the Value Chain
Beyond information included in the 2024 Report released today, Mondelēz International continues to strengthen its human rights due diligence (HRDD) across both its own operations and supplier network:
- ~96% of owned manufacturing sites and ~98% of prioritized suppliers have completed third-party SMETA audits in the past 3 years.
- HRDD coverage has been expanded to increase coverage of suppliers’ manufacturing and logistic sites handling the company’s finished products.
- Since launching its dedicated Human Rights Policy in 2021, the company has trained more than ~50,000 colleagues on human rights issues, including ~7,000 in manufacturing and logistics, and ~3,000 in key stewardship roles.
As part of its focus on prioritized ingredients, Mondelēz International continued scaling its signature cocoa sustainability program Cocoa Life in 2024:
- Partnering with around 208,000 farmers and backed by a $1 billion investment from 2012 through 2030.
- As of year-end 2024, approximately 89% of Cocoa Life communities in West Africa – representing approximately 2,480 communities – are covered by Child Labor Monitoring & Remediation System (CLMRS).
- The company aims to cover all West African Cocoa Life communities with a CLMRS by the end of 2025 and has conducted more than 240,000 interviews to help prevent child labor.
Cocoa Life’s integrated approach focused on developing ways to help make cocoa farming more profitable, help protect and restore forests and help lift local cocoa communities. This includes efforts focused on women’s empowerment, income diversification, and entrepreneurship through Village Savings and Loan Associations and partnerships with CARE International.
Sector Collaboration to Accelerate Impact
Mondelēz International believes addressing systemic human rights issues in ingredient supply chains needs collaboration between governments, industry, and civil society. To help address child labor in the West African Cocoa supply chain, in 2024, the company deepened its support for sector-wide systemic solutions, through its continued support and investment of ~$3million from 2022 to 2026 in the Child Learning and Education Facility (CLEF), which aims to reach over 4 million children by transforming rural education in Cote d’Ivoire.
Building on the success of the CLEF initiative, Mondelēz International is supporting the development of a new public-private partnership, the System Change Architecture for Learning Excellence (SCALE) initiative to help improve the quality of education in Ghana with an investment of ~$1million over the next four years.
- SCALE is innovating how national-level financing can be unlocked.
- To date, three philanthropic partners and 10 cocoa and chocolate companies have joined forces to support SCALE — a collaborative co-funding mechanism that will inject further funds into the Ghana Accountability for Learning Outcomes Project (GALOP), a five-year governmental initiative seeking to improve the quality of education in low-performing basic education (ages 4-15) schools and strengthen the education sector across Ghana. It focuses on strengthening teaching capacity, accountability and leadership systems, access to high-quality school resources, and better operational management.
- It is the first time that private and philanthropic organizations have raised enough finance to trigger the Global Partnership for Education’s (GPE) Multiplier Grant in Ghana.
- By pooling US$40 million, SCALE partners were able to unlock an additional US$40 million from GPE to support GALOP.
Beyond cocoa, the company’s multiple collaborations with industry coalitions help support the company’s progress and human rights efforts. These include:
- Co-chairing the Consumer Goods Forum (CGF) Human Rights Coalition, to help shape industry leading practices. This year, Mondelēz supported the development of the Best Practice Note on Human Rights Defenders which aims to inspire businesses in helping to better protect human rights defenders.
- Supporting World Cocoa Foundation’s (WCF) vision to catalyze a thriving and equitable cocoa sector.
- Serving as a member of the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) Board of Directors to support sector-wide progress in addressing child labor in West African cocoa.
- Joining the Coalition for Responsible Sugarcane India (CRSI) to help strengthen human rights practices in India’s sugarcane sector.
- Co-chairing the CAOBISCO’s partnership with the International Labor Organization to help combat child labor in seasonal harvesting of hazelnuts in Turkey.
- Partnering with WageMap, a new initiative to drive alignment across living wage methodologies and frameworks.
Our Human Rights Approach
At Mondelēz International, we are committed to making our snacks the right way, including respecting the human rights of people in our value chain. As part of our business practices, we use the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) as a guide to prevent and mitigate associated risks, supporting our commitment to fostering a safe, healthy and sustainable working environment, as detailed in our Human Rights Policy.
About Mondelēz International
Mondelēz International, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDLZ) empowers people to snack right in over 150 countries around the world. With 2024 net revenues of approximately $36.4 billion, MDLZ is leading the future of snacking with iconic global and local brands such as Oreo, Ritz, LU, Clif Bar and Tate’s Bake Shop biscuits and baked snacks, as well as Cadbury Dairy Milk, Milka and Toblerone chocolate. Mondelēz International is a proud member of the Dow Jones Best-in-Class North America and World Indices, formerly Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. Visit www.mondelezinternational.com or follow the company on X at x.com/MDLZ.
Contacts:
Maggie McKerr
1-847-943-5678
news@mdlz.com
1 We aim to regularly and transparently report our progress. You can find additional details on Mondelēz International’s ESG goals and reported information within the About This Report section of our 2024 Snacking Made Right Report.
Group 1 Pledges Additional $50,000 in Matching Funds for Employee Donations
HOUSTON, July 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Houston-based Group 1 Automotive, Inc. (NYSE: GP1) is donating $250,000 to the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, which supports relief and rebuilding efforts following the historic July 4, 2025, flood in Central Texas.
The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country directs funding to The Kerr County Flood Relief Fund, which will provide funds to vetted organizations providing rescue efforts and flood assistance in the Central Texas communities of Hunt, Ingram, Kerrville, Center Point, and Comfort.
To donate, visit https://cftexashillcountry.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=4201.
“The loss of life and catastrophic devastation in Central Texas are unimaginable,” said Daryl Kenningham, Group 1’s President & CEO. “As a Texas-based company, we know Texans respond when adversity strikes. All of us at Group 1 hurt for those who lost loved ones, homes, and other property.”
Group 1’s Texas presence is comprised of 53 dealerships and approximately 6,000 employees, extending throughout the state, including San Antonio and Austin. Kenningham added that Group 1 has offered additional support by pledging $50,000 in matching funds for donations made by Group 1 employees.
ABOUT GROUP 1 AUTOMOTIVE, INC.
Group 1 owns and operates 259 automotive dealerships, 330 franchises, and 39 collision centers in the United States and the United Kingdom that offer 36 brands of automobiles. Through its dealerships and omni-channel platform, the Company sells new and used cars and light trucks; arranges related vehicle financing; sells service and insurance contracts; provides automotive maintenance and repair services; and sells vehicle parts.
Group 1 discloses additional information about the Company, its business, and its results of operations at www.group1corp.com, www.group1auto.com, www.group1collision.com, www.acceleride.com, and www.facebook.com/group1auto.
Media Contact:
Kimberly Barta
Head of Marketing and Communications
Group 1 Automotive, Inc.
503-539-0756
kbarta@group1auto.com
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/group-1-automotive-donates-250-000-to-kerr-county-flood-relief-fund-302501610.html
SOURCE Group 1 Automotive, Inc.
