Attached is an appeal from our CEO, Erika Ebbel, about our $25k entry into Pepsi’s Refresh Everything grant contest. We’re under a deadline and must make it to the top 10 of our category by the end of the month to win the grant.

You can visit our profile at http://pep.si/fu76yz and vote there (with a Pepsi account, or facebook) or with a text message of 105161 to Pepsi (73774). You are allowed to cast one of your ten daily votes for us each day, and we’ll need every one and then some to win the grant. Please help spread the word by adding a note and the link to your IM status, a tweet, etc.

Also consider casting one of your daily votes for the Incentive Mentoring Program (IMP), a high school mentoring program. The high school students IMP serves face incredible challenges, including drug abuse, gang violence, homelessness, extreme poverty, and incarcerated parents. Volunteer “Families” become their full time mentors, tutors, and social workers. IMP Families do everything it takes to get students on their feet, get them through high school, and help them throughout college.

Fewer than 40% of Baltimore City students graduate from high school on time, but 94% of IMP’s students have graduated on time and gone to college. With your help, IMP can continue to help inner city youth become college-bound community leaders. Thanks for voting every day at http://pep.si/fS13cb or texting 104704 to 73774.