The Taco Bell Foundation for Teens, together with Get Schooled, invites teens to take part in a one-of-a-kind project, “Yearbook Time! Upload Yourself Into Times Square Using Instagram.”
To participate, students are asked to make the Graduate for Mas promise to graduate high school, then upload their Instagram photo to www.graduateformas.com by June 10.
For every photo uploaded, Taco Bell Corp. will donate $100 to its foundation, up to a total of $1 million. Select teens will then have the opportunity to see their name (and photo) "in lights" as part of the world's largest yearbook in Times Square on June 12.
Each day, approximately 7,000 students drop out of school; that's more than 1.3 million teens a year, or enough to fill 30,000 school buses.
As an organization dedicated to teens—as customers, employees, and future leaders—the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens recognizes that this gap represents a significant opportunity in furthering its mission to inspire and enable teens through core programs such as "Graduate for Mas," partnerships with like-minded organizations, and direct financial assistance for teens in need.
"This initiative is not only a way to reward the tremendous efforts made by students who have joined the Graduate for Mas movement, but also to give those students an opportunity to inspire others,” says Amy Kavanaugh, executive director of the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens. "We have been working with teens for many years, and they are telling us that they want a voice in the conversation about education and academic success. We are honored to provide that platform to them."
The Times Square yearbook project coincides with Taco Bell's fifth annual national fundraiser, which enables the foundation to grant millions of dollars each year to support local academic, career, and mentorship resources and experiences through partners like the Boys & Girls Clubs and Junior Achievement.
Now through June 13, in participating Taco Bell restaurants across the U.S., anyone who donates $1in support of the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens will receive a coupon for a free taco as a token of thanks.
