Exotic Pop, a Houston, Black-owned beverage company known for their signature sodas and exotic brands, and Unity National Bank, the only African American owned banking institution in Texas, awarded two Houston Independent School District (HISD) middle school students with Certificates of Deposit (CDs) last week at Fleming Middle School!

Fleming Middle School students Angela Rivera and Derrick Vaughn were each presented with a $500 Certificate of Deposit (CD) for future college expenses on Thursday, June 2, 2022, by Exotic Pop Founder and CEO Charleston Wilson and Sherifat Lawal Price, Vice President of Business Development and Marketing at Unity National Bank, as part of an ongoing HISD partnership program created by Exotic Pop to give back to local students.

“We’re grateful to Unity National Bank for partnering with us to recognize and reward the academic and personal achievements of these young students,” said Charleston Wilson Founder and CEO of Exotic Pop. “Unity National shares our mission to serve as positive community leaders, role models and mentors to young people and to support the HISD in its efforts to advance student success and education. We congratulate Angela and Derrick on their achievements and are proud to help provide resources to help them pursue their future goals.”

Wilson, a driving force behind initiatives that uplift the community and empower local youth, also launched a free financial literacy workshop and HISD scholarship program last year to help young people pursue their academic goals and build generational wealth through entrepreneurism. The scholarships, named the “Charleston Wilson and Donnie Franklin Scholarship” after the Exotic Pop Founder and his mother, are awarded to graduating HISD seniors who are interested in pursuing business or entrepreneurship, and have been accepted to a college, university, or two-year community college program. Exotic Pop awarded two HISD students $1,000 scholarships in 2021 and will soon be awarding scholarships to two HISD senior student for this school year.

Wilson, who has been a serial entrepreneur since childhood, launched Houston-based Exotic Pop out of the trunk of his car in 2017. Today, the company has a signature line of products and nostalgic and hard-to-find beverages and snacks in over 70 retail stores nationwide. The brand has blossomed into a multi-million-dollar global business that has built partnerships and beverage flavors with Houston hip-hop artists like DJ Screw, Lil Flip, King Combs, Lil Keke, Big Moe, Fat Pat, Bun B, Soulja Boy and others, with a mission to give back to the community and create a positive movement for urban culture!

The Exotic Pop-Unity National Bank CD presentations were awarded during student graduation ceremonies last Thursday and presided over by Fleming Middle School Principal Yolanda Bruce. The mothers of the student recipients, Maria Rivera and Tonya Vaughn, were also in attendance for the award presentation.