Pepsi Announces Programming Around Mary J. Blige’s Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit

This Friday, Pepsi Stronger Together — the brand’s series of grassroots initiatives bringing tailored programming support to communities across the country — is supporting the city of Atlanta once again.

As part of its footprint in the Mary J. Blige and Pepsi “Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit,” Pepsi Stronger Together is empowering women in the community starting with City of Refuge, an organization that provides services to families and individuals in crisis including housing for women and single mothers, youth development and job training. Along with a clothing donation to restock the City of Refuge’s closet for new residents, Pepsi Stronger Together is also providing a $20,000 donation to further support the important work the organization does in helping women in need.

“The closet provides more than just clothing to these women, it’s one of their first touchpoints when they arrive and a source of confidence and self-respect. We find that when women love the clothes they are wearing they respect themselves more and therefore demand respect from the people in their lives,” said Kelsi Franco, director of Women’s Housing at City of Refuge.

“This generous support from Pepsi Stronger Together allows us to continue assisting the women who reside here with new clothes as well as resources to empower them, which in turn helps them in building confidence and preparedness for the workforce and beyond.”

As part of the Pepsi Stronger Together donation to City of Refuge, the brand will be providing:

– A selection of brand new clothes to help reinstate the donation-based women’s closet that provides free clothes monthly to over 100 women in need. Providing a range of harder to source inclusive sizing, the brand’s donation covers business professional attire, athletic wear and more to assist women that come to City of Refuge with only the clothes on their backs.

– A $20,000 grant to support the organization’s ongoing work in the Atlanta community.

– Products from local Black female-owned businesses like The Village Market and CURLBOX, who will speaking at the Pepsi Stronger Together panel on female empowerment during the “Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit.”

“For Pepsi Stronger Together, our goal has always been to uplift the Atlanta community and our role in the ‘Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit’ is no different. We are honored to be working with the City of Refuge, an organization that echoes what the festival represents, to kick-start the return of this donation-based closet and provide these deserving women the tools they need to succeed,” said Elisa Baker, senior director, Brand Communications and Community Engagement, PepsiCo Multicultural Business and Equity Development (MBED).

The on-site donation by Pepsi Stronger Together will kick-off the brand’s arrival in Atlanta ahead of this weekend’s “Strength of a Woman Festival & Summit.” Pepsi is co-presenting the weekend’s programming along with Mary J. Blige and her team, with events and activations aimed at elevating, entertaining and educating women in the Atlanta area and beyond.

The donation to City of Refuge is the latest in Pepsi Stronger Together’s continued support of the Atlanta community following its work last year which included renovations of youth crisis and domestic violence shelters A Friend’s House and Haven House, funding de-escalation training with Henry County and Fulton County Sheriff’s Offices, and more.

– What: Clothing donation + $20,000 check presentation by Pepsi Stronger Together.

– Where: City of Refuge, 1300 Joseph E. Bonne Blvd N.W., Atlanta, Ga. 30314.

– When: Friday, May 6, 12 p.m.

Notable attendees: (interviews available)

– Elisa Baker – Senior Director, Brand Communications and Community Engagement, PepsiCo Multicultural Business and Equity Development (MBED).

– Kelsi Franco – Director of Women’s Housing, City of Refuge.