SB Candy And Toy Co Presents Smarties Scholarship To California College Student

LAS VEGAS -- Jana Putney, a college student from Sacramento, CA, is the first winner of S&B Candy and Toy Co.'s Smarties Scholarship Award. She received her winning Smarties contest-entry card from a Smarties crane at a Round Table Pizza store in Vacaville, CA.

The licensed Smarties crane scholarship program has been made possible by a partnership between S&B and the Smarties candy brand. It builds on S&B's crane machine foundation, which can take play to a unique new level.

Players of all ages have the opportunity to win a coded Smarties card from one of the cranes. This card, in conjunction with the smartiesland.com website, allows winners to access special VIP features, and to compete to win a 529B educational savings plan. Students get a chance to win a scholarship for each card registered at the website: the more cards collected, the more chances winners have to test their knowledge and win.

The program is now in its beta phase, and S&B reports that it already has proven a great success. S&B now has Smarties cranes operating in several states, which have enrolled more than 1,400 unique contestants on the website. S&B donates a portion of each sale from the machines and scholarship mixes to the program fund.

According to S&B, parents are endorsing this program and not hesitating to reach into their pockets to enable their kids to win Smarties cards. Smarties crane collections are strong, with an average of $446 a month at a "win every time" product cost of approximately 18%. The program's motto for operators is, "Owning a Smarties crane makes you smarter."

The scholarship presentation was made on March 25 at the Amusement Expo in Las Vegas. Putney, who attended with her mother Lei, plans to use her scholarship to help pay for the next phase of her education: graduate school. "I wish to thank S&B Candy and Toy and Smarties for making this program possible," she said. "This scholarship is definitely a reminder that my education, although expensive and difficult at times, is a gift and a joy in my life."

S&B's objective is to identify key operators and include chain accounts in order to make the Smarties Scholarship Program truly national in scope. Details may be had from the company's Paula Rinker by calling her at (800) 773-0531 or (410) 412-0739 (mobile).

PHOTO:College student Jana Putney (l.) receives Smarties Scholarship award from S&B Candy and Toy's Paula Rinker and Brandon Riggles during 2015 Amusement Expo. S&B's Smarties prize-every-time cranes dispense the popular candy wafers with a card giving access to the Smarties Land website, offering games in which players compete for the scholarship.