Washington, D.C., (Oct. 22, 2012) – On Monday, October 15, State Farm surprised students at the Columbia Heights Education Campus (CHEC) with a $100,000 grant for their participation in State Farm's Celebrate My Drive initiative.
State Farm's Vice President of Agency Victor Anger appeared onstage during a previously scheduled assembly to surprise students with the news. After inviting some of the students up on stage to discuss Celebrate My Drive, Anger announced that the student's hard work had paid off: He presented the students with the $100,000 check, and they erupted with joy.
“We are thankful to the Columbia Heights Education Campus and everyone who came together in September to help rally communities around new drivers,” said State Farm's Vice President of Agency Victor Anger “Sharing these positive experiences and helping to keep them safe as they explore the road ahead.”
Celebrate My Drive consisted of more than 400 events across the U.S. and Canada on September 15, bringing together high school officials, safety advocates, local law enforcement and government leaders joined with more than 1,400 State Farm agents and tens of thousands of teens and their parents for a celebration of this year's class of new teen drivers. State Farm is taking a different approach to teen driving safety by sharing positive driving habits and experiences rather than some of the more traditional approaches that often scare new drivers.
As part of Celebrate My Drive, State Farm awarded 14 participating schools each a grant of $100,000 during National Teen Driver Safety Week. The winning schools were chosen based on an online voting process that took place during the six days leading up to September 15. Schools will use the grants to fund key safety or other essential projects at the school. CHEC won by receiving the most votes among high schools within a 50-mile radius of D.C.
In addition, State Farm awarded fourteen teen drivers who attended one of the Celebrate My Drive events a 2013 Chevy Sonic. For a complete list of all winners, go to www.celebratemydrive.com.Anna Bryant, State Farm Public Affairs , (202) 263-4404
National Teen Driver Safety Week is observed the third week of October, to bring attention to the number one killer of American teens, car crashes. During this week we encourage parents, young drivers, lawmakers and educators to focus on working together to change risky teen driving behaviors and help save lives. As a result of their combined goal of reducing injury and death from teen crashes, State Farm® and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia® teamed up in 2007 to support a Congressional resolution designating National Teen Driver Safety Week. Working together with many valued safety organizations, we continue to provide leadership and advocacy around this tragedy.
State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 17,800 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts - more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 43 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com or in Canada http://www.statefarm.ca.
