State Farm® invests more than $4.5 million in Youth-led Projects
Bloomington, Ill., Feb. 23, 2009 -- Environmental responsibility was on the minds of youth when considering service-learning projects.
The State Farm Youth Advisory Board, in partnership with State Farm, announced today it will award $4.5 million for youth-led, service-learning based projects to 73 organizations across the United States and Canada.
The grants will be awarded to the organizations in the following ways:
More than 500 grant requests were received that focused on environmental responsibility, disaster preparedness, driver safety, higher-education/closing the achievement gap and financial education.
Grants include using paper waste to heat a Superintendent’s home; mentoring programs for at-risk youth; planning and implementing disaster preparedness materials for the Spanish speaking community.
“State Farm has a strong commitment to young people and to the leadership they provide,” Kathy Payne, Director of Education Leadership, said. “We’re excited to see the results and the positive impact these grants will have on communities across the United States and Canada.”
Visit www.statefarmyab.com for more information about the different projects being funded and about the Youth Advisory Board.
For more information please contact Dawn Fones, (309) 766-2259 or Matt Maloney, (309) 766-7554.
State Farm insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm's 17,000 agents and 68,000 employees serve more than 78 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.9 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 32 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.
The State Farm Youth Advisory Board is a diverse group of 30 youth, ages 17-20, who were chosen through a competitive process to lead and oversee a $5 million/year signature service-learning initiative. The Youth Board identified the issues, issued competitive grants and will now provide technical assistance, communication and oversight to site grantees. To learn more about the Youth Advisory Board visit statefarmyab.com.
Service-learning is a teaching method which supplements classroom studies with hands-on projects that address pressing community issues and problems. To learn more about service-learning visit www.nylc.org, www.ysa.org, www.service-learningpartnership.org and What is service-learning?