DALLAS - April 30, 2009 - The Kimberly-Clark Foundation, the charitable arm of Kimberly-Clark Corporation [NYSE: KMB], announced today the recipients of its 2009 Bright Futures college scholarship program. This year, K-C provided college scholarships totaling $1.56 million to students located in 17 U.S. states and one Canadian province.
Established in 1993, the Bright Futures Scholarship Program awards college scholarships to children of Kimberly-Clark employees in the United States and Canada. Each scholarship is worth up to $20,000 ($5,000 per year for up to four years) for full-time students studying at accredited colleges and universities. Since its inception, the program has distributed approximately $30 million in scholarships to more than 1,500 students.
"Kimberly-Clark created the Bright Futures Scholarship Program to help make a college education more accessible to employees' children who demonstrate the potential to become the next generation of leaders in our communities," said Thomas J. Falk, chairman and CEO of Kimberly-Clark. "We salute the accomplishments of these capable and caring young citizens and are proud to award them these 2009 scholarships."
The Foundation received 311 applications this year. The 78 recipients were chosen based on academic achievement, leadership, and involvement in extracurricular activities. Members of this year's scholarship class will attend such top colleges as the University of Notre Dame, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Princeton, Stanford, Marquette, Emory and Clemson Universities. Past scholarship recipients have gone on to pursue successful careers in medicine, education, the armed forces and engineering. The average GPA for this year's scholarship class is 3.96.
"The scholarship gave me the opportunity to attend a private university with an exceptional reputation in my field of interest," said Melody Villarreal, a former Bright Futures Scholarship recipient who is now a senior ITS analyst at the Kimberly-Clark World Headquarters in Dallas. "I feel that working for Kimberly-Clark gives me a chance to show my gratitude for the scholarship. And in a unique twist, I am now supporting the K-C Foundation that awards these scholarships."
For more information on this year's award recipients and to meet a few previous honorees, visit www.kimberly-clark.com.
About the Kimberly-Clark Foundation
The Kimberly-Clark Foundation is the charitable arm of Kimberly-Clark Corporation and is dedicated to supporting and strengthening families around the world. For more information, visit www.kimberly-clark.com/aboutus/kc_foundation.aspx.
About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 150 countries. Every day, 1.3 billion people - nearly a quarter of the world's population - trust K-C brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company's 137-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com.