Oxnard Fire Department will receive a $25,000 grant to make a difference in the Oxnard community
Oxnard, CA (May 24, 2012) - After three weeks and more than 1.2 million votes, State Farm® is proud to announce the Oxnard Fire Department will receive a $25,000 grant to reduce the number of drowning's at the beaches in Oxnard. Oxnard Fire Dept. was one of 3,000 Cause submissions State Farm received through Cause An Effect, a crowd-sourced philanthropic initiative that relies on non-profit organizations to create solutions to community issues identified by Facebook users.
In the past decade the Oxnard Fire Department has responded to approximately 170 water rescue incidents. Many of those resulted in debilitating injury or death. It is the goal of this Water Safety Awareness Cause to provide an aggressive and broad reaching public education campaign designed to increase public awareness in and around Oxnard's dynamic, and often dangerous ocean environment as well as it's many "still water" locations such as private pools and harbor.
The State Farm Youth Advisory Board, a diverse group of 30 students, reviewed the 3,000 Cause submissions and helped State Farm select the top 100 finalists. State Farm then identified and paired nonprofits with each Cause; the affiliated nonprofits of the top 40 Causes will each receive a $25,000 grant to create and execute a plan to address the Cause.
The Oxnard Fire Department asked the community to support our cause and we were over whelmed with the support we received. The Oxnard Fire Department thanks all of our supporters who took the time to vote for the "Ocean Safety in Oxnard” Cause during the "Cause an Effect” voting period. Without your help we wouldn't have received the grant. The Oxnard Fire Department thanks all of our supporters who took the time to vote for the "Ocean Safety in Oxnard” Cause during the "Cause an Effect” voting period. Without your help we wouldn't have received the grant.
From April 27 through May 17, the Facebook community was encouraged to visit the Cause An Effect app and vote for their favorite Cause. More than 38,000 people took to Facebook during the three week period; the Oxnard Fire Dept. received 16,309 votes, the 37th most votes in the program.
"The considerable amount of votes Oxnard Fire Dept. received shows the level of commitment and engagement within our community to solve local issues,” said Bill Gomez, State Farm Agency Field Executive. "We look forward to watching Oxnard Fire and the Oxnard community come together to make their neighborhood safer, stronger, and better educated with the help of Cause An Effect."
For a complete list of the top 40 Causes or for more information about Cause An Effect, visit the State Farm Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/statefarm).
Eddie C. Martinez, Media Relations (310) 560-6690
The Youth Advisory Board is comprised of 30 students, ages 17-20, from across the United States and Canada who serve a two-year term. Their directive is to implement a $5 million-a-year signature service-learning initiative to address issues important to youth and communities. The Board is completely autonomous and youth-driven, and funds projects focused on issues selected by the board that impact youth. It consists of a diverse group of full-time students at high schools and universities. Each member commits about 15 hours a month to the Board and participates in three face-to-face meetings per calendar year. The Board will fund the 40 grants awarded through the Cause An Effect program with a portion of its $5 million funding in 2012. For more information on the Youth Advisory Board, visit www.statefarmYouth Advisory Board.com.
The Mission of the Oxnard Fire Department is to serve the public and to safeguard the community by preventing or minimizing the impact of emergency situations to life, environment, and property by responding to both emergency and non-emergency requests for service.
The Oxnard Fire Department Provides a full range of services including; Fire Suppression, Urban Search and Rescue, Emergency Medical Service, Hazardous Material Response, Vehicle and Industrial Accident Response, Ocean and Surf Rescue, Public Fire and Life Safety Education. Oxnard Fire Department's seven fire stations serve an area of 26.7 square miles, and protect a population of over 200,000 with 93 sworn and 10 civilians employees.
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.
