The holidays are here, and with them, the spirit and joy of sharing gifts and goodwill. Nowhere is that more evident than at Pepsi Bottling Ventures (PBV) in Raleigh. Since 2016, the good folks at Pepsi have been working a good deal of “Christmas Magic” with their PBV Angel Tree, part of their PBV Connects corporate community service program. Partnering with Inter-Faith Food Shuttle, the PBV Angel Tree connects Pepsi staff to local children, families, and seniors during the holiday season to distribute gifts and essentials to make Christmas a little brighter.
This year’s PBV Angel Tree will benefit residents of three neighborhoods in the city of Rocky Mount. This rural town has been hit especially hard since the start of the pandemic and one hundred families were chosen by the city to receive gifts. The families were asked to put together “wish lists”, which were then handed over to Pepsi employees—who were also each supplied with $50 gift cards—to do the holiday gift shopping. All the gifts were collected at Pepsi ’s corporate headquarters and the “elves” from Inter-Faith Food Shuttle picked them up for sorting at the Food Shuttle warehouse. There, they’ll be combined with electronic tablets and chargers provided by the Pepsi Bottling Ventures company, along with a good supply of toilet paper and paper towels for each family, and distributed to the Rocky Mount households, just in time for Christmas.
This annual holiday event has taken on a special significance this year for the employees. “The response has been amazing, especially during COVID. People have gone over and above to show care, kindness, and love. It is with a spirit of true generosity that our people come to work and give back each day. This is a natural extension of who we are,” said Cindy Brammer, HR Manager, PBV Corporate Headquarters.
There were some adjustments to the program, made out of concern for COVID-19. The company worked to ensure full safety at all times, so that they could give back in a meaningful and safe way. They began preparing for the Angel Tree back in August, and did as much planning and pre-preparation as possible to minimize contact and exposure for their staff. In the end, “people chipped in where they could to make it work,” according to Brammer.
In conclusion, Cindy Brammer says, “There is no better feeling than the feeling of having helped another human being. We do this each day in the way we treat each other. The spirit of PBV is not our building or the products we sell; it is about the hearts of our people and their desire to ‘Spread the Joy of Pepsi.’ This means giving back, serving others, and always trying to do something better for someone else along the way. Let that be our story of our successes, and the most important legacy we strive to cultivate for the future.”
The cherry on top -- or dare we say, the star on top of the tree -- was a $5,000 contribution made possible by PepsiCo to support the Food Shuttle’s continued efforts to bring transformative solutions to ending hunger in our community.
