ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The Florida Beverage Association (FBA) announced today it is awarding $77,500 in grants to four programs in Florida that focus on environmental sustainability, community health and education. Recipients include: Clean Miami Beach; Friends of the Underline, Inc. (FUL); The Children’s Home Society of Florida’s Healthy Trojans program; and the School Board of Orange County.
“Florida’s beverage companies operate in every community across our state. Supporting local organizations matters to us,” said Elizabeth DeWitt, president and CEO of the Florida Beverage Association. “We are pleased to provide grants to these four organizations that are making a meaningful impact in fostering a more sustainable environment and healthier lifestyles here in Florida.”
These grants, made possible through a matching grant program with the American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America Foundation (ABFHA), support local efforts to advance positive change by promoting recycling and sustainability and enhancing health and wellness for underprivileged Floridians.
“America’s beverage companies’ commitment to the communities where we live and work is core to who we are,” said Kevin Keane, president and CEO of American Beverage and president of the ABFHA Board of Directors. “We are proud to support the Florida Beverage Association and these organizations as they work toward our shared commitment to improve the health and environment of communities across Florida and nationwide.”
FBA and ABFHA awarded grants to the following organizations and community initiatives:
- Clean Miami Beach, a nonprofit focused on environmental conservation, received $24,000 to support beach cleanups and recycling art workshops and education programs for hundreds of students through its “Classroom on the Sand” initiative.
- Friends of The Underline, Inc., received $25,000 to implement a recycling program along a three-mile stretch of The Underline Park in Miami, adding 14 recycling containers that will collect an estimated 53,000 pounds of recyclables annually.
- The Children’s Home Society of Florida received $25,000 to expand its Healthy Trojans program in Orlando promoting wellness and fitness among students and families through exercise programs, health workshops and improved access to medical services.
- The School Board of Orange County received a $3,500 grant to install “bottles only” recycling bins in 22 high school cafeterias, diverting 70,000 plastic bottles from landfills annually and promoting sustainability to 61,000 students.
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About the American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America
The American Beverage Foundation for a Healthy America seeks to make a significant contribution to the health of local communities by providing grants to support community organizations that work to advance both the physical health of their local citizens and the environmental health of their communities. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) created and funded by America’s non-alcoholic beverage industry and is a reflection of the industry’s longstanding tradition of giving back to communities. Learn more at www.beveragefoundation.org.
About the Florida Beverage Association
The Florida Beverage Association is the state trade association of non-alcoholic beverage producers, marketers, bottlers, and distributors. Our companies make and sell some of the most popular non-alcoholic beverages, including regular and diet soft drinks, bottled water and water beverages, 100-percent juice and juice drinks, isotonic drinks, kombuchas, energy drinks and ready-to-drink teas. Learn more at www.flabev.org.
Contact: Elizabeth DeWitt (liz.dewitt@flabev.org)