LOS ANGELES, June 2011 - State Farm recently presented a check for $450,000 to Teach For America - Los Angeles at the organization’s Student Achievement Carnival, where students, corps members, staff, and supporters celebrated the hard work and academic accomplishments of the past year. Tom Conley, California senior vice president for State Farm, was on hand to present the check to Teach For America (TFA). The event was held at the Para Los Niño’s - Gratts Primary Center in the Pico Union area of Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles contribution is part of a total $1.5 million pledge to Teach For America at the national level. TFA’s Los Angeles chapter will use the funds for recruitment, selection, training, and ongoing professional development of Teach For America teachers, also known as corps members, in high-need public schools in Los Angeles. In addition, State Farm’s gift will connect Teach For America’s alumni network in the region to leadership opportunities that advance the movement to provide every student with an excellent education.
State Farm is the largest corporate donor to Teach For America’s Los Angeles region, and its employees in Los Angeles have also had an opportunity to engage with corps members in their classrooms through the mentorship program, Meet My Teacher.
Teach For America recruits, trains, and supports top college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in under-resourced schools and become lifelong leaders in the pursuit of educational equity. This fall, almost 290 Teach For America corps members will be teaching in Los Angeles schools, and over 1,300 local alumni will continue to lead critical education and social reforms on behalf of students and families in low-income communities. Katherine Nelson (Los Angeles Corps ’92), director of the Watts Learning Center, is just one example. The center recently received the Hart Vision Award for Charter School of the Year from the California Charter Schools Association and the Title 1 Academic Achievement Award from the California Department of Education.
“With the help of State Farm’s continued support of Teach For America in Los Angeles, we have been able to further our work to expand educational opportunities for students in our city’s highest-need schools,” said Michelle Culver, vice president of regional operations for Teach For America. “We are deeply grateful for their investment in our success.”
“We are proud of our continued partnership with Teach For America and the work they do to provide children in low-income communities in Los Angeles with an education that will allow them to reach their greatest potential,” said Conley. “Our support of Teach For America is part of State Farm’s longstanding commitment to education and youth. We believe Teach For America is making a lasting contribution to the education of our young people and that contribution will mean future success for all us, for years to come.”
Since 2008, State Farm has donated $3.9 million to Teach For America.
Eddie C. Martinez, State Farm Media Relations L.A. County, (310) 560-6690.
Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity. Today, 7,300 corps members are teaching in 35 regions across the country while 17,000 Teach For America alumni continue working from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org.
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. 31 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.
