Forget 1,000 Words: a Photo Could Now Be Worth a $20,000 Scholarship from KFC

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Students: put the smart phones and digital cameras you use every day to good use. The brand behind last year’s wildly popular Twitter scholarship has announced it’s reinvigorating the application process for its KFC Colonel’s Scholars^® scholarship program by increasing the value of a single picture to $20,000 – and a college education. Starting today and through December 8, high school seniors can try to win a $20,000 Colonel’s Scholars scholarship by tweeting a single image and including the hashtag #KFCScholar.

“A picture’s worth 1,000 words! I’m applying to win a $20K KFC Colonel’s Scholars scholarship with a single photo #KFCScholar.”

KFC is asking college hopefuls to tweet a photo that illustrates why they exemplify Colonel Sanders’ commitment to education and enriching their communities, and why they are deserving of a college scholarship. The scholarship winner, announced on December 15, will receive up to $5,000 per year for the next four years to pursue a bachelor’s degree at an accredited public university within his or her home state.

“As an extension of Colonel Sanders’ vision, the Kentucky Fried Chicken Foundation awards more than 75 scholarships to college hopefuls each year,” said John Cywinski, President of KFC. “Last year, KFC broke new ground with the first-ever Twitter scholarship, and now, we’re challenging students to snap a photo that literally shows us why they deserve a college education. We’re excited to see their creativity.”

Last year, California high school senior Amanda Russell won KFC’s inaugural Twitter scholarship with this tweet: “#KFCScholar Hey Colonel! Your scholarship's the secret ingredient missing from my recipe for success! Got the grades, drive, just need cash!”

Russell, who’s now a freshman at UCLA, offered some advice to students hoping to follow her lead this year. “A single tweet changed my life when I won last year’s KFC scholarship,” she said. “My advice? Be creative, true to yourself and put your best foot forward.”

Get Creative, Tweeple. Apply @KFC_Colonel.

From December 1 – December 8, follow KFC on Twitter (@KFC_Colonel) and submit your application in the form of a tweeted photo, including #KFCScholar in the tweet.

Applicants do not have to include @KFC_Colonel in the message that accompanies the image, but are required to include #KFCScholar, which can be included as part of the message; e.g., “A picture’s worth 1,000 words! I’m applying to win a $20K KFC Colonel’s Scholars scholarship with a single photo #KFCScholar.” Applications will be judged solely on the photos.
Tweets will be reviewed after December 8 to determine that applicants comply with proper eligibility requirements*, and the winner will be announced on or about December 15.

KFC Colonel’s Scholars an Original Recipe for Success

KFC Colonel’s Scholars, now in its sixth year, is an annual program of the Kentucky Fried Chicken Foundation, an independent charity supported by KFC, its employees and franchisees, and KFC patrons. The KFC Colonel’s Scholars’ mission is to empower students to improve their lives with scholarship resources. The program has awarded more than $5 million in scholarships since its inception.

For official rules and more information on KFC Colonel’s Scholars and the Kentucky Fried Chicken Foundation, visit www.KFC.com or www.KFCscholars.org. The regular application process also begins December 1, 2011.

*Eligibility

To be eligible to compete for the KFC Colonel's Scholars Scholarship, an individual must:

Graduate from high school this academic year (8/31/12)
Earn a minimum cumulative high school GPA of 2.75
Plan to pursue a bachelor's degree at a public, in-state college or university (start no later than 9/30/12)
Be a US citizen or permanent resident

About KFC Colonel’s Scholars

KFC Colonel’s Scholars is a program of Kentucky Fried Chicken Foundation, an independent 501c3 charity funded by KFC, its employees, franchisees and KFC patrons, and seeks to help provide high school students scholarship resources to attend public post-secondary schools within their states of residence. Colonel’s Scholars is a registered trademark of KFC Corporation.

About KFC

KFC Corporation, based in Louisville, Ky., is the world’s most popular chicken restaurant chain specializing in Original Recipe®, Extra Crispy™, Kentucky Grilled Chicken® and Crispy Strips with home-style sides, Hot Wings, and freshly made chicken sandwiches including the Double Down® and the Doublicious®. There are more than 15,000 KFC outlets in 109 countries and territories around the world serving some 12 million customers each day. KFC Corporation is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., Louisville, Ky. (NYSE: YUM.) For more information, visit www.kfc.com. Follow KFC on Facebook (www.facebook.com/KFC) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/kfc_colonel).

About Colonel Sanders

The Kentucky Fried Chicken concept was pioneered by Colonel Harland Sanders (1890-1980), whose cooking career began at age six. Sanders held jobs ranging from streetcar conductor to insurance salesman, but his cooking skills were a constant throughout his life. In 1930, Sanders operated a service station in Corbin, Ky., and filled the stomachs of hungry travelers who stopped in to fill up their gas tanks. Sanders soon moved his restaurant across the street when he could no longer keep up with the demand from travelers who he had been feeding at his kitchen table. In 1935, the Kentucky Governor made Sanders an honorary Kentucky Colonel for his contributions to the state’s cuisine. Over the next decade, the Colonel perfected his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices and the basic cooking technique still used at KFC today. When Sanders was 65, a new interstate highway forced the closure of his restaurant and he was left with only his recipe for fried chicken and a $105 Social Security check. The Colonel hit the road and struck handshake deals with restaurant owners who agreed to sell his fried chicken. What began as a dream fueled by the Original Recipe, a no-quit attitude and a Social Security check grew into the world’s largest chicken restaurant chain. Until he passed away in 1980 at the age of 90, the Colonel still traveled 250,000 miles a year visiting KFC restaurants around the world.