Whataburger is best known for serving up its famous burgers, but the company also makes significant investments in its employees. Today, the Whataburger Family Foundation announced it has distributed more than $1 million – through its Whataburger Scholarship Program – to employees and their immediate family members for the 2020-2021 school year. The scholarships have been awarded to 268 students from Florida to Arizona, including Chandrell Powers, Abcde Espinoza and Josue Guajardo.
“My career goal is to become established in a respected company and one day start up my own business to offer jobs to a lot of the kids back home,” said Whataburger employee and scholarship recipient Josue Guajardo. “I want to show them that anything can be achieved through hard work – that your story’s ending is always more important than the beginning.” Guajardo plans to pursue a degree in electrical engineering at the University of Texas.
The foundation, created in 2003, provides both opportunities and assistance for employees, and is funded by a combination of corporate investment and voluntary employee contributions. Through the Whataburger Scholarship Program, the foundation has provided over $7 million in scholarships to more than 2,700 employees and their immediate family members.
“The Whataburger Family Foundation is largely funded by our own employees, who we call Family Members, so this is an incredible demonstration of coworkers supporting one another in reaching their education and career goals,” says Pam Cox, Whataburger Vice President of Human Resources and Brand Communication. “At Whataburger we believe in offering our Family Members a career – not just a job. In addition to awarding scholarships, we provide a unique leadership curriculum to further develop our Family Members’ business and people skills.”
Whataburger’s Family Foundation is just one facet of a larger initiative called Feeding Student Success, which the company has designated $1 million to directly support minority students. The company plans to announce additional details about Feeding Student Success in August.
