Olympic gold medalist at Coral Park

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

Henry Cejudo, U.S. Olympic wrestling gold medalist and campaign spokesperson, helped kick off the national program at Coral Park Senior High School in Westchester.

“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 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,” Cejudo said. “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 United States 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 selected Publix Super Markets stores in the South Florida region.

“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.”

For information, visit www.mycokerewards.com/education and www.hsf.net/cocacola.

Gulliver Schools Hall of Fame

A professional football star, Olympic basketball player and National Triathlon Team member along with two championship title winning coaches will be inducted into Gulliver Schools 2012 Athletic Hall of Fame on Oct.19.

The ceremony will occur at the school’s Preparatory Campus, 6575 North Kendall Dr., Miami, 33156.

The late Sean Taylor, who graduated in 2001 and starred in football for the University of Miami and the Washington Redskins, will be honored posthumously. Inductees also include former U.S. National Triathlon Team member Gina Derks Gardner (class of ’90) and pro basketball player and Olympian Sylvia Fowles (class of ’04). Athletic Director Mark Schusterman and Boys’ Varsity Soccer Coach Jorge Dieppa will be inducted for their dedication in shaping Gulliver athletes for 30 and 25 years, respectively.