Stony Kill Foundation will receive a $25,000 grant to make a difference in Beacon community
Beacon, NY (May 22, 2012) - After three weeks and more than 1.2 million votes, State Farm® is proud to announce the Stony Kill Foundation will receive a $25,000 grant to improve the Beacon community. The Stony Kill 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.
“I am absolutely thrilled that the Stony Kill Foundation has succeeded in placing in the top 40 causes. I submitted Stony Kill because due to State Budget cuts we have been in jeopardy of closing,” said Kathy Martin, Member of the Stony Kill Board of Directors. “These funds will help Stony Kill to continue our mission of Agricultural and Environmental Education to our area.”
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.
“I am so happy that our community is so supportive of Stony Kill. Throughout the entire voting process the public overwhelmed me with their unwavering support. It really meant so much to me to see how much Stony Kill means to our area,” said Kathy Martin. “These funds will help us to continue our work to educate families and preserve our environment.”
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 Stony Kill Foundation received 20,543 votes, the seventeenth most votes in the program.
“The considerable amount of votes that the Stony Kill Foundation received shows the level of commitment and engagement within our community to solve local issues,” said Joe Spicer, State Farm Vice President-Agency. “We look forward to watching the Stony Kill 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).
Douglas Nadeau, State Farm Insurance Media Relations Specialist, (603) 641-4549
About the Youth Advisory Board
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.comState 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.
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