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And you aren’t convinced it’s true? Okay, ask the 32 minds that bagged the first Pepsi Refresh Grant for their refreshing ideas. These people thought and their thoughts provided a gleam of hope, some succor to people. And when their work was done, they collected a whopping booty worth $1.3 million! And if that’s not rewarding, what is?

The Pepsi Refresh Project initiative is designed to fund good ideas that will help make the world happier. The Project invited individuals and organizations to submit beneficial, achievable, constructive and “shovel-ready” ideas that would make a positive impact on communities, this January. And the whole of the next month ideas and votes poured in at www.refresheverything.com. The Pepsi Refresh Project response itself proved that great ideas need no classroom settings, nor intensive labour in concentration camps —they can simply originate from free unshackled minds — ideas that rock with abundance of life, powerful, creative and fun.

Jill Beraud, CMO and president of joint ventures, PepsiCo Beverages Americas himself endorses the fact that project gyrates on the belief that “great ideas can come from anyone, anywhere, anytime, and that the first group of winners proves it true.” And why the 32 deserved their credit is because they dared to think out of the box — thoughts that made school buses more energy efficient and made high school grads more financially literate.

The six categories that the Pepsi Refresh Project was classified into were Health, Arts & Culture, Food & Shelter, The Planet, Neighbourhoods and Education. Each entry was compelling enough to catch public attention with its invigorating freshness. In total, the Pepsi Refresh Project awarded two grants of $250,000, 10 prizes each of $50,000, $25,000 and $5,000 grants. And in terms of the project being a rewarding endeavour — priceless!

Pepsi is partnering with three organizations dedicated to making a positive difference in the world: GOOD, a leading platform for thought and action revolving around pushing the world forward; Global Giving, an online marketplace that connects people who have community and world-changing ideas with people who can support them; and Do Something, the largest non-profit teen charity to make this project a raring success.

And what more? The new round of voting begins April 1. The Pepsi Refresh Project will give away more than $20 million to refresh the world, one idea at a time, in 2010. Each month, Pepsi will award up to $1.3 million in grants to the ideas with the most votes. Pepsi will accept up to 1,000 new ideas every month and the public decides who wins. Vote for your favorite ideas now at www.refresheverything.com.

The Pepsi Refresh Project can be found at www.refresheverything.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/refresheverything or on Twitter, @Pepsi or #pepsirefresh.

What are you waiting for? Put on your thinking caps and mull on what you can do to generate innovative, optimistic ideas to make the society you live in, a paradise on earth!