Petal, MS (May 24, 2012) - After three weeks and more than 1.2 million votes, State Farm® is proud to announce that the Petal School District Education Foundation will receive a $25,000 grant to help saves lives in Petal. The Petal School District Education Foundation 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.
The Foundation plans to the use the $25,000 grant to boost its CPR training. Immediate CPR can triple a victim's chance of survival from a sudden heart problem. “Thirty three Petal High School students and I plan to provide CPR training to 60% of Petal's residents, making our city a safer place to live for many years to come,” says Science and Health Instructor Mary Hill.
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.
“Our cause received more than 30,000 Facebook votes,” says Hill. “I am so proud that our community stepped up and delivered.””
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; participants could vote up to ten times per day and the Petal School District Education Foundation received 30,517 votes, the 7th highest in the nation.
“The considerable amount of votes the Petal School District Education Foundation received shows the level of commitment and engagement within our community to solve local issues,” said State Farm spokesman Roszell Gadson. “We look forward to scheduling a check presentation this summer and watching the Petal School District Education Foundation 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).
Roszell Gadson, Media Relations (770) 418-5940
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.
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.
Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.
