Special program honors Hispanic traditions through digital photos and features a joint donation to the Hispanic College Fund

September 15, 2009 – Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE:EK) and Yahoo! En Español have partnered to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and give back to the community through “Muestra Tu Herencia” (Show Your Heritage), a unique interactive online photo-sharing program where users can submit digital photos on http://www.yahooenespanol.com/kodak to showcase their unique culture and traditions. For every photograph uploaded, Kodak and Yahoo! En Español will each donate $2 respectively (up to $20,000 combined) to the Hispanic College Fund, a national non-profit organization that provides educational, scholarship, and mentoring programs to U.S. Hispanic students.
Through October 31, 2009, users can upload, share and comment on photos, and at the same time help change the lives of fellow Hispanics by contributing to a good cause. In addition, on October 12th, Kodak and Yahoo! En Español will unveil a digital photo mosaic using all of the submitted photographs as a tribute to Hispanic families across the United States, which will be featured online through the end of October.
“One of the best ways to empower the Hispanic family is to ensure that the next generation has the neccesary access and resources to go to college,” said Idalia Fernandez, president of the Hispanic College Fund. “Thanks to Kodak and Yahoo! En Español, we have an opportunity to help raise awareness and money for Hispanic scholarships.”
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 21.4% of Latino students dropped out of college in (year) compared to 8.7% of white students. The Pew Hispanic Center reports that Latino high school students are the largest ethnic minority in public schools and the Hispanic College Fund is working to ensure that they all have access to the resources they need to go to college.
To date, the Hispanic College Fund has raised over $13 million, and provided scholarships for over 4,800 students. Since its inception in 1993, the organization has provided Hispanic high school and college students with the vision, resources, and mentorship needed to become community leaders and achieve successful careers in business, science, technology, engineering and math.
“At Kodak, we understand the emotional power of pictures and we applaud all of the amazing work that the Hispanic College Fund undertakes to help and encourage Hispanic students to pursue a higher education. This year, we wanted to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by helping Latino families and their children by capturing and sharing the everyday life moments that reflect pride in their roots and community,” said Leslie Dance, Vice President, Worldwide Marketing at Eastman Kodak.
“Every year during Hispanic Heritage Month, Yahoo! En Español pays tribute to the richness and diversity of the U.S. Hispanic culture, and this year, together with Kodak, we are happy to take this a step further and give back in a very meaningful way that will impact generations to come,” said Armando Rodriguez, general manager, Yahoo! Hispanic Americas.”
For more information about the Hispanic Heritage Fund, please visit http://www.hispanicfund.org.

About The Hispanic College Fund
Founded in 1993, the Hispanic College Fund is a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC, whose mission is to develop the next generation of Hispanic professionals. For 15 years, the Hispanic College Fund has provided educational, scholarship, and mentoring programs to students throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, establishing a career pipeline of talented and career-driven Hispanics who are trained in the fields of business, science, technology, engineering, and math.
The Hispanic College Fund has an annual budget of $6 million with 20 full-time employees. In 2006, the Hispanic College Fund received the Brillante award for “Nonprofit of the Year” from the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, and in 2007 was recognized by USA Today as one of the nation’s top 25 charities. In 2009, the Hispanic College Fund received a coveted four-star rating from Charity Navigator in recognition of its fiscal responsibility. Website: http://www.hispanicfund.org
About Kodak
As the world’s foremost imaging innovator, Kodak helps consumers, businesses, and creative professionals unleash the power of pictures and printing to enrich their lives.

Here is what Jerry Gonzalez who is Maria Elena’s founder had to say. “We are humbled and very grateful for this honor. As a further expression of our commitment to help young Latinos, we are our increasing efforts to give back by pledging 1% of our sales in 2009 to the LBA Scholarship Fund.”

Jerry and his brother Victor who founded the company are pillars in the community, and have much to be commended for. Their donations will help young Latinos to aspire for great things by furthering education and pursuing solid goals.

If you would like to find out more information on the company that the two brothers built, named after their mother Maria Elena de Gonzalez, then read on.

There were 3 winners who were chosen to have their art displayed on the boxes. Jaime Maldonado, of Chicago, Paula Lagioia of Miami and Jessica DelCarpio of New York City. Maldonado, who is of Puerto Rican descent calls his art “Celebration” which he says expresses the spirit and energetic independence of Latin American countries.

He goes on to say, “Colors are an important way in which our cultures connect. As Latinos, we have a lot of vibrant colors whether you go to México, Colombia or Puerto Rico,” said Maldonado in an interview with EXTRA. “We have [a lot] of colors in our homes and in the streets.”

Maldonado is a self disciplined and self taught person in the field of design. This was some great news for him, especially since he expressed that this year was a tough one for him.

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