Pepsi is running a contest called the Pepsi Refresh Project. Pepsi is giving away millions of dollars for the purpose of funding great ideas that have a positive impact on the community.

I perused the lists of candidates a bit and they all look like great projects and worthwhile attempts to facilitate change and help various portions of society and the community.

There is one though that is "one of ours" - "mee'she'lanu" as we would say in Hebrew.

It is a yeshiva called the Lancaster Yeshiva Center. Their program is called "Renovate uninhabitable city home while training vocational students" and they are running for a $50,000 prize.

The overview of their program says:

The Lancaster Yeshiva Center project renovates properties and provides affordable housing to an area previously suffering the consequences of a blighted property. The project is performed through the efforts of students who are taught vocational skills in the construction/contracting field and who receive the hands on experience necessary to renovate these properties. Often times these properties would have been left unattended due to the expense involved in refurbishing them. Since our students comprise a workforce which does not receive financial retribution but rather are learning and practicing skills they need to become productive members of society, we can give attention to these properties and everyone wins.

This is a program that helps people who cannot afford to fix up their houses at the same time as training the students in a vocation they will have for their own futures.

You can vote once a day per email address, and this is an easy enough way to help out an important program win some funding without you spending a penny!

Head over to the Pepsi Refresh Project and vote for the Lancaster Yeshiva Center.