2009 State Farm® Service-Learning Champion Award

Nominations for the 2009 award will open in September 2008.

About the Award

State Farm supports service-learning as a teaching method that enhances the academic achievement of students while engaging in service to the community.  State Farm created the Service-Learning Champion Award to recognize a non-traditional advocate of service-learning by acknowledging the valuable role played by a business or community leader who has partnered with youth in advancing the cause of service-learning.

Other awards exist for organizations, students and teachers.  This award is designed to recognize a community member, business partner, or public official whose contribution was instrumental to the success of a youth led service-learning project.  It recognizes a community member who has had a significant and meaningful impact on the growth of service-learning, championing the cause of service-learning through his or her commitment of time, training, materials, personal involvement and passion.

Criteria for nomination:

• The nominee must be a strong supporter of school-based service-learning as shown by their words, actions and ability to engage others.
• The nominee must be a community member from outside the traditional service-learning ranks (cannot be a classroom teacher, practitioner, or affiliate of a service-learning organization).
• The nominee, through his or her personal engagement, has added significant value to the success of a project.
• Nominee must be a resident of the United States (one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia) or Canada (provinces of Alberta, New Brunswick, or Ontario.)

Examples of service-learning champions:

Bill Johnson owns a small contracting business.  Through research and interviews in a social studies class, students determined the need for a fire station in their community.  Bill became involved by helping the students share their concerns with the mayor and city council.  Once the project was approved, he helped them raise money, taught them construction skills, provided specialized equipment for the project, and even got the media involved.  Without his support and guidance, this project would not have been possible.

Mary Smith is a retiree and volunteer in a middle school library.  She was instrumental in sharing information about available service-learning grants with teachers and students in the district.  Once a group of students had researched possibilities, they submitted their proposal for improving pedestrian safety.  When they received the grant, Mary assisted the various classes working on the project by sharing skills she had learned in a large corporation where she had been employed.  Her assistance ranged from helping students develop presentations for younger classes and the community to providing guidelines for meeting with local government officials to implement crosswalk signs.

State Farm Service-Learning Champion Award

2008 State Farm Service-Learning Champion Award Recipient

State Farm Service-Learning Champion Award Recipients from Prior Years