Sherman Elementary Playground Project will receive a $25,000 grant to make a difference in the Nampa community
Nampa, Idaho (May 23, 2012) - After three weeks and more than 1.2 million votes, State Farm® is proud to announce Sherman Playground will receive a $25,000 grant to improve the Nampa community. Sherman Playground 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.
“Our win with the State Farm Cause An Effect is a community effort that brings significant and long lasting benefits to our school, our neighborhood and our city,” said project coordinator Lynn Adams. “Thank you to every person and business that has supported our playground makeover with Cause An Effect votes and donations.”
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.
“Community support caused an effect and brought about an amazing result,” Adams added. “Sherman Elementary is extremely fortunate and honored to receive this grant from State Farm.”
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; Sherman Playground received an impressive 45,421 votes, the third most votes in the program.
“The considerable amount of votes Sherman Playground received isn't a surprise to me. The level of commitment and engagement within our community to solve local issues has been inspiring,” said Nampa State Farm Agent Beau Murray. “We look forward to watching the project and the community continue to work 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).
Angela M. Thorpe, Media Relations (303) 264-1560
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.
Sherman Elementary School is a school in an older Nampa neighborhood. We opened in 1995 to replace the more than 80-year-old East Side Elementary School. We serve a diverse community of students by focusing on the individual child's needs. We work actively to involve parents in our school and more than 50 percent of parents volunteer time at our school.
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