Nestlé Philippines, led by its Chairman and CEO Suresh Narayanan, recently welcomed the latest batch of new scholars to its 2015 Nestlé Ice Cream Street Selling Vendor Scholarship Program, bringing to a total of 90 the number of current beneficiaries located in Metro Manila, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu City, Bulacan and Laguna.
The program was launched by Nestlé Ice Cream in 2014 to recognize the hard work, performance, and loyalty of its street vendors who have been the brand’s valuable partners in bringing Nestlé Ice Cream to consumers in residential communities. Open to school-aged children of qualified Nestlé ice Cream street vendors, the scholarship provides educational grants of PhP 10,000 to each college scholar and PhP 5,000 to each elementary scholar.
In order to qualify, the street vendor-parent must have been with Nestlé Street-Selling for at least a year and proven to be hardworking, dedicated and loyal. The scholars, in turn, are selected based on their dedication and commitment to their studies, and their recognition of the value of their parents’ hard work. Nestlé carefully assesses each applicant to find the most deserving students.
At the awarding ceremony, Mr. Narayanan said to the children: “You can be anything you want to be if you put your mind and heart to it. Never forget the values of your family and make your parents proud of you. It is because of your parents that you are now Nestlé Ice Cream scholars. To the parents of these deserving scholars, I pray for your strength and hope that someday, your children will make you proud.”
The ceremony was also attended by Nestlé Philippines Corporate Affairs Head Ernie Mascenon, Corporate Communication and Consumer Services Head Au Alipao, Nestlé Ice Cream Business Executive Manager Chew Soi Ping, National Sales Manager Joi Dadis, and Consumer Marketing Manager Nikki Dizon,
Congratulating the parents of the scholars, Mr. Chew said: “I know you work hard to send your children to school so they can have a better future. We share your belief that education is the best gift we can ever give our children. This scholarship grant is our simple way of saying ‘thank you’ for all your hard work and loyalty to Nestlé Ice Cream.”
Nestlé Ice Cream street vendor Rommel Santos, the parent of scholar Mae Santos, expressed deep appreciation for the scholarship grant, which he said will be applied to the tuition fee, books, school supplies, and uniforms of his daughter for the school year. “This gives us strength and inspires us all the more to strive harder to bring Nestlé Ice Cream to consumers and strengthen the presence of the brand in the communities that we serve,” Mr. Santos said.