DALLAS, May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kimberly-Clark Foundation, the charitable arm of Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB), announced today the recipients of its 2011 Bright Futures college scholarship program. This year, K-C provided college scholarships totaling $1.36 million to students located in 14 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces.

Established in 1993, the Bright Futures Scholarship Program awards college scholarships to children of Kimberly-Clark employees in the United States and Canada. Each scholarship is worth up to $20,000 ($5,000 per year for up to four years) for full-time students studying at accredited colleges and universities. Since its inception, the program has distributed over $33 million in scholarships to more than 1,650 students.

"Our Bright Futures Scholarship Program helps further the education of employees' children who demonstrate the potential to become the next generation of leaders in our communities. There is no finer investment in our future," said Thomas J. Falk, chairman and CEO of Kimberly-Clark. "We are delighted to acknowledge the accomplishments of these outstanding young students. We are honored to award them these scholarships, and we wish them well as they pursue their higher education."

The Foundation received 272 applications this year. The 68 recipients were chosen based on academic achievement, leadership and involvement in extracurricular activities. Members of this year's scholarship class will attend such top colleges and universities as Princeton, Auburn, Brigham Young, Marquette, Georgia Tech and University of North Carolina. Past scholarship recipients have gone on to pursue successful careers in medicine, education, the armed forces and engineering. The average GPA for this year's scholarship class is 3.94.

For more information on this year's award recipients and to meet a few previous honorees, visit www.kimberly-clark.com.

About the Kimberly-Clark Foundation

The Kimberly-Clark Foundation is the charitable arm of Kimberly-Clark Corporation and is dedicated to supporting and strengthening families around the world. For more information, visit http://www.kimberly-clark.com/ourcompany/community/kc_foundation.aspx.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 150 countries. Every day, 1.3 billion people – nearly a quarter of the world's population – trust K-C brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company's 138-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com.

SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Corporation